During the Serenissima Republic's glorious heyday, Venice's printing houses were flourishing.
By the late 15th century, the city was known as a hub for business and trade, housing over 400 printing presses and drawing the likes of outspoken artists and writers who thrived in the forward thinking, cosmopolitan climate, far from the reach of the Vatican.
Few Venetian printers remain to this day but there are some who keep the art alive, such as La Bottega del Tintoretto, and la Stamperia. The majority of old Heidelberg printing machines may have rusted away but the glory of Venice's printing age does live on in the bookshops of Venice, each one possessing a personality as unique as the city itself.
On a rainy day in October, dazzling lights from shop windows danced gold on glistening paving stones as tourists bustled by and drizzle soaked the city. I walked the misty calli to visit seven bookshops of Venice. From brightly-lit and busy to rooms where time stood still, let's look at their seven personalities one by one:
La Feltrinelli - San Polo 2245a
The first bookshop I visited was a homely melange of warm tones, rustic stone walls, wooden beams and swirly floors. A glowing older sister, La Feltrinelli is the trusted, confidant you can always come to having published a stack of Italian writers and provided all a book lover may desire in over 100 bookshops since the late 1950s. I love the renovation they undertook a year prior, highlighting the features of this stunning space.
Studium - S. Marco, 337
Tucked away behind the Basilica di San Marco, find an ancient shop turned modern. In 2022, Studium transformed into a perfumery bookstore featuring Venetian titles and a collection of 200 scents representing The Merchant of Venice olfactory library. Studium is the slick, polished businessman who spares no expense.
Ubik Goldoni - Calle dei Fabbri 4742/4743
I found Ubik bright and busy. In the 20 minutes spent flicking through picture books and tourist paraphernalia placed around the counter, it seemed a hub for everything and anything 'Venice' - maps, guides, souvenirs, one lady even asked for a pack of Venetian tarot cards! Mums bought their children's school books, the queue moved quickly and the shop assistants bustled about in the lively and bubbly Ubik Goldoni.
Acqua Alta - C. Longa Santa Maria Formosa 5176b
Peeking out from behind an old fig tree, this bookshop may as well give up hiding. As the most posted Venetian bookshop on Instagram, Libreria Acqua Alta wants to cuddle up in a quiet armchair with one of its cats and watch the boats go by but welcomes a mass of enthusiastic fans who shuffle through its beautiful rooms daily. Named 'High Water', the stacked bathtubs, raised shelves and gondola (yes, gondola) packed full of books were initially functional rather than aesthetic, to prevent the prints from damaging in high tide, and the visitors love this! With no intention whatsoever, the offbeat Acqua Alta has become an internet institution with customers flocking from far and wide to snap its quirky corners and climb its outdoor 'ruined books' steps for a view of the canal in the courtyard of the self-proclaimed 'Most beautiful bookshop in the world'.
La Toletta - Dorsoduro, 1214
Founded in 1933 by Angelo Pelizzato, this is the oldest bookshop and claims to be the largest in Venice. Housing a collection of Italian classics, La Toletta has always been socially active, standing with the partisans, hiding arms amongst the book shelves and offering sizeable discounts. La Toletta became a publishing house in 2008 and continues to host conferences and debates in a space that has remained unchanged for 90 years. Stoic, unassuming and non-conformist, Toletta's well-worn walls have got some stories to tell.
Marco Polo - Sestiere Dorsoduro, 2899
I visited Librairie Marco Polo in the Dorsoduro quarter, there are two. This one is positioned at the quiet end of Campo Santa Margherita, where an unassuming doorway leads up to a few rooms packed with books. This is an unpretentious bookshop where the smell of printed paper lingers and a bygone Venetian tempo is measured by Claudio who takes his time to share his views. We spoke youth, economy and punctuation (or the lack of) while he calmly rolled tobacco for a cigarette telling me he didn't stock recipe books. As Venetian as they come, Marco Polo makes no excuses.
I love this little leafy square beside Venice's Ca' Foscari University. With a water fountain, benches to rest and a sleepy air, it's pure escapism from the crowds. On one side is the little bookshop Cafoscarina, actually there are two shops. Casfoscarina 2 serves Uni students with publications of history, philosophy, literature, theatre, architecture, poetry and more.
Cafoscarina 3 stocks an impressive range of international reads in a multitude of languages from Chinese to Arabian to Indian and all in-between. Functional and beautifully orderly and neat, Cafoscarina is the inquisitive and worldly-wise scholar, keen to explore.
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