Venice Bookshops

Today I took my visiting sister to Venice. I’m not sure how many times I have visited there now, but each time is a new experience as different guests have desires to see different aspects of Venice and Venetian culture.

            This excursion may have been one of the more pleasant visits I have experienced, simply for the fact that my neighbor watched my LO all day and I got to experience Venice child free. I sat on the train and took care of business instead of chasing my toddler up and down the aisles. I didn’t have to wear a large sweaty backpack to carry him, or a stroller (which we tried last time, and with all of the bridges in Venice, that was a miserable experience. Venice is NOT handicap or stroller friendly…) And when lunch time rolled around and the family next to us had a child melting down and screaming, I got to happily munch my Panini and be thankful to be child free. I don't think I'll be returning with children to Venice any time soon... 

            My sister is not one for historic buildings or touring museums, which is a nice change for me because I’ve certainly done those a few times. Instead, she wanted to visit the bookstores of Venice. This was a unique experience all it’s own, as the pictures show below. We stopped at several bookshops, which have been around for many years and held very old books, but our favorite was the Acqua Alta Bookshop.

This bookstore can be found at: and is open from 9:00 am - 8:00 pm daily.

              The Bookshop’s interior had several narrow adjoining rooms, overflowing with books. What made this shop stand out was not it’s assortment of both new and old books, nor the amount or genre range they spanned, but how they were stored.  All of the books were piled into boats, barrels, and even tubs! Some smaller wooden boats were turned side ways and mounted onto the walls, an interesting twist on book shelving!

 

 

What bookstore would be complete without the bookstore cat?

 

 

 The bookshop had an opening right onto the water (as seen in the picture left), and I am unsure whether or not the books are all stored this way to protect them in case of flood (which is frequent in the Venice rainy season, and the water level in July was already RIGHT at the bookstore's edge!), or if it’s solely to attract visitors and make this quirky bookstore stand out amongst the rest. Regardless of the reason, it was certainly fun to explore. 

             The open air nook for reading right on the water was a peaceful and enjoyable way to pass the time. We also got to wave at the curious tourists taking gondola rides as they passed by the opening.

          Through one of the bookshop's exits is a courtyard, and in this courtyard the bookshop has piled, strung, and glued together numerous books to make a large, colorful, book wall (The Great Book Wall of Venice? ha!) And one can reach the top of the book wall by a book stair case on either side. Atop the weathered book staircase, you can walk along the book wall and overlook one of the Venice canals. 

 

Here my sister lounges atop the large book staircase, browsing through the Italian version of Harry Potter. She ended up purchasing the unique book as a souvenir of her time there. The Italian version seemed quite a bit different than the English versions I have seen, and the pictures were drawn in an Italian style and all the characters had Italian looks and hair cuts. It was a good laugh!

 

We did stop in San Marco Square, and also crossed the ever-crowded Rialto Bridge and later viewed the Bridge of Sighs, but visiting the bookshops had been a new adventure, one not packed with tourists like the more popular stops, and it was a good change of pace to pick a less traversed and desired part of Venice to explore.

No matter how many times I have done Venice, each visit always seems to end the same: with me and the guests running across the island to catch the next train. My sister and I caught our train home with a few seconds to spare. I have found that towing bags and not knowing quite where one is going, it takes us an average of 40 minutes to jog from San Marco Square to the train station (just in case you ever happen to be in that situation... there is my time estimate for you).

 

My sister, unbeknownst to me, quickly snapped this pic as of me leading the way as we wove  down narrow alley streets towards our destination.