Organising some photos the other day I realised that there are two types of shop that end up in my memories of every single holiday; record shops and bookshops. Shocked at the fact that this amazing bookshop wasn’t included in my guide to Venice, I decided to start a blog series about nice bookshops that I’ve encountered in my travels. Once I have enough, I’ll make a zine about them.
Libreria Acqua Alta, Venezia
Calle Longa Santa Maria Formosa (Corte Senza Nome),
5176 – Castello 30122 Venezia
5176 – Castello 30122 Venezia
9:30am – 7:30pm
I was drawn into this bookshop by two old maps of Venice and a cute cat sleeping on top of a pile of books. Always a good sign. Speaking about signs, I thought this would be a mere lie, but you know what? It must be one of the most beautiful bookshops in the world, for real.
I clearly have a thing for books, so I was standing there open-mouthed browsing through boxes and boxes of pretty vintage prints when the owner told us to follow the yellow signs. Feeling a bit like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, I followed and came to this:
Isn’t it wonderful? I was extremely intrigued by buildings with doors to the canals and now I could stand in one! But that wasn’t the only amazing thing in the place. For those who, like us, don’t have a proper job and can’t afford to eat AND rent a gondola, you can see a gondola up close in this bookshop. And what’s better than a gondola? A gondola full of books!
There are books EVERYWHERE. In boats:
And baths:
Most books are second hand, although there are also some new ones. And a good selection of books about Venice too.
They have a selection of second hand books (antique and not so old) in lots of foreign languages, which is useful if you forgot to take holiday reads.
Along with the more common ones (English, Spanish, French, German) they also had books in Russian, Greek and even Romanian!
An amazing find and a nice visit for booklovers and company (the building alone is worth it). Oh, and the owner also rents rooms!
