05 Jul A special library
Now let’s assume you love books like I do. Old books, new books, it doesn’t matter. And you are in Venice.
Then Libreria Aqua Alta is a must.
Now, when I first visited Venice in 2009 I didn’t know about this place and when I got the chance to visit Venice again during the Carnevale someone told me about this place. And I’m glad I found out about Aqua Alta.
You see, this is not your regular bookshop. Yes it is crowded, yes people take lots of pictures inside, yes it has good books and bad books, it has new books and old books but where else will you find books kept inside a gondola? Or inside bathtubs? Or inside canoes?
If there is a place where you can insert a book it is probably used in this place.
And that’s what makes it so unique.
Go to the back (fire escape I think) and climb the little stair of books and look behind the wall. This place is like no other, it has a warm feeling, people are smiling inside and from what I remember if you’re a cat lover then you’re in luck because there are quite a few cats outside and inside the place.
You can easily spend half an hour in this place especially if there is a big line in the back where people line up to take photos with the stairs made from books.
All in all a very special place that really deserves a visit.