Born in Pergola, in the province of Pesaro, on 22 October 1928, he trained in Rome, Milan (where his teachers were three of the great protagonists of abstract rationalism, Luigi Veronesi, Max Huber and Albe Steiner) and Urbino, where he attended the Scuola del Libro and where Valentini developed his interest in engraving and the art of book illustration. Among his many illustrated volumes are “La città del sole” by Tommaso Campanella and “I Canti” by Giacomo Leopardi.