milan bookstore crawl
an itinerary of six bookstores and three honorable mentions
What’s better than a bookstore? Two bookstores. Or three. Or many, many more, and the closer they are to each other the better.
When I stumbled upon the concept of a “bookstore crawl”, I let out a chuckle: there was a term out there that perfectly encompasses an activity I have taken part in many, many times.
Need to find a copy of a new release before anyone else snatches it away from you? Bookstore crawl. Have some time to kill before meeting up with a friend or your date? Bookstore crawl. On your own on a gloomy day, trying to cheer yourself up after a hard week? Yes, you guessed it, bookstore crawl.
Most of the bookstore crawls I browsed online, though, take place in New York City. While I still harbor a certain desire to visit the Big Apple one day, I happily live on the other side of the Atlantic, more or less safe and sound in the Old World. More specifically, the city I know and visit the most is Milan.
I compiled for you a bookstore crawl in the heart of Milan: an itinerary of six bookstores and three honorable mentions, starting and ending right around Piazza Duomo. Feel free to pair it with some sightseeing if you’re a tourist, or discover some spots you might have missed if you’re a local.
Hoepli International Bookshop
Via Ulrico Hoepli, 5
Opening our Milan bookstore crawl, right behind Teatro alla Scala, this bookstore is a safe haven for tourists and polyglots alike: while the ground floor hosts a vast selection of books in Italian, the first floor is all about international releases, not just in English but in most European languages. Booksellers at Hoepli will also do their best to preorder any book you request.
Rizzoli Galleria
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, 11/12
One of two bookstores inside the stunning Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, this space has been recently renovated, combining its sense of timeless charm with a new look. Rizzoli also hosts a huge international wing at ground floor, full of new releases and trending novels as well as a really strong non-fiction section. One of my most recent art book purchases, The Story of Art Without Men by Katy Hessel, comes from here.
Feltrinelli Galleria
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
The Duomo isn’t even in sight and yet here is the third bookstore in our crawl: I have a soft spot for Feltrinelli (which doubles as a bookstore chain and a publisher) and all it stands for, so my opinion is extremely biased here. This bookstore takes up the underground level of a bigger building and also hosts a selection of discs, vinyls and musical instruments, broadening its perspective to the arts at large.
Mondadori Piazza Duomo
Piazza Duomo ang. Via Mazzini
I’m going to just say it right now: I’m not particularly fond of this bookstore. It’s especially well stocked, I’ll give it that, but the huge piles of bestsellers greeting customers on tables do convey a certain “consumerism cathedral” feel. However, I bought my beloved Kobo Libra Colour here, so it can’t be all bad. It’s worth taking a stroll under its arcades and checking out the stationery section, too.
Libraccio Santa Tecla
Via Santa Tecla, 5
Libraccio is our flagship secondhand bookstore chain: this store specifically benefits from its location with constant stream of good deals coming in, including very recent releases (most probably left by disappointed journalists, influencers, and PR people), and is haunted by broke Humanities students from the nearby uni. How would I know? I was one of them.
Honorable mention: Piazza Fontana book stall
I mean, it’s not a store, but it still sells books! And what a selection of books, as well! I do warn you that in my nine years here I still haven’t seen any English titles popping up, but this book stall right behind Piazza Duomo sells brand new releases at a 20% to 50% discount. It has been a staple of my university years and I still visit it regularly whenever I’m in the area.
Colibrì
Via Laghetto, 9/11
The main leg of our Milan bookstore crawl ends at an independent bookstore that holds a special place in my heart: set in a gorgeous little square almost on its own and doubling as a café/bar, it’s the right place to wind down talking to the amazing booksellers and sip aperitivo at an honest price. In its back room Colibrì hosts a tiny but mighty English selection of books.
Honorable mention: Sormani library
C.so di Porta Vittoria, 6
What do the hottest girls in the capital of fashion and design do? They support their local library. If you live at an Italian address, you can sign up for a library card that grants you access to multiple libraries in the city (with an international selection, as well) as well as our ebook lending system - it’s not quite as complete as Libby or Overdrive, but it works, and in Italy that’s saying something.
Honorable mention: Piazza Diaz Flea Market
If you’re lucky enough to visit Milan on the second Sunday of the month (except for August), you’ll be able to visit a wonderful book flea market in Piazza Duomo and its surroundings. Most stalls here sell vintage and secondhand novels and art books, spanning from limited editions to more thrift-friendly prices. Truly a bibliophile’s paradise!
That is all for today! I hope this short itinerary was useful to you, or inspired you to work on a bookstore crawl of your own. Milan is packed full of places to visit and trust me, with bookstores I barely scratched the surface here.
Love, Francesca