Rome, open book
If what you are looking for is to go to the shot, take a tour of one of the venues of classics such as Feltrinelli (Via Emanuele Orlando and Galeria Colonna) or from Arion , “independent bookstores” of Rome (there are even at the airport). In addition to a wide range of subjects in science and letters and in all branches of culture, this chain also sells some gadgets design and music a. at its headquarters in Montechitorio you will find rarities, unique copies, original works by Molière or first editions of Mickey Mouse... And in Via Veneto you can browse all night (they close at 6 in the morning). In the Palazzo delle Esposizioni (Via Nazionale, 194) you can get hold of a different city guide , a lot of visual art, architecture, design... And complete your visit by taking a look at one of the exhibitions or eating in its restaurant, on the top floor, modern, white and super nice. The best: its appetizer buffet or brunch.
Arion and Feltrinelli are the 'independents' of Rome
If you prefer to go brujuleando, here we pass you some neighborhood suggestions :
**TRASTEVERE NEIGHBORHOOD **
You can't miss it, in the heart of Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere is ** Minimum Fax ** (via della Lungaretta, 90/e), a bookstore whose size is inversely proportional to its activity. His catalog, Italian and foreign narrative, history and much about show business , has its focus on independent publishers, which its staff, young and passionate, defend tooth and nail. Another point in its favor is that it opens every day until midnight and that every Wednesday they hold presentations or readings where unconditional fans and curious tourists come together.
In the same neighborhood, but in a much less busy area, in front of the Santa Cecilia church, there is another address to keep in mind: Nuove Edizioni Romane (18 Piazza di Santa Cecilia) . It's a small bookstore specializing in children and adolescents , where Gabriella, its owner, has been selling titles from her own publishing house since 1977, from classics and poetry to the latest novelties.
For a walk, in one of those typical places of Trastevere, with chips and a chaotic appearance, he stays The movie library , candy for moviegoers . It has it all, film theory books, thematic encyclopedias, biographies of actors, movie scripts and DVDs of traditional Italian authors or experimental documentaries (with some things in Spanish). In its bar you can have a glass of preseco or a sparkling wine for around 5 Euros.
A treat for moviegoers
HISTORICAL CENTER In Altroquando (via del Gov. Veccio, 80) you will find an interesting offer from contemporary novels to art and photography and a good cinema section in Italian or English. Downstairs, as if in a small grotto of exposed brick, they have a room where presentations, readings, photography courses, small concerts, movies and serattas , events where a bit of everything is mixed (for a perfect night, finish with a pizza at Baffeto, a pizzeria a stone's throw from here) . If you are looking for books in Spanish, stop by the Spagnola Bookstore, the most complete in Spanish and Latin American literature (and some titles also in Portuguese), in all of Rome, in Piazza Navona.
Enjoy a 'seratta' in its little grotto
The roman bookstore with 'ñ'
PIGNETUS We have already talked about this neighborhood on more than one occasion, because it is where the latest avant-garde batches are cooked in Rome. There five years ago Barbara and Barbara rented a place (at that time it was much cheaper) and set up a bookstore made to measure: Tuba (referring to the first letters of their names) where what prevails is the female accent . There you will find from books written by and for women, sex shop items and a bar counter. In The Yeti bookstore-caffe (Perugia 4) they have it all outside the circuit of the big publishers and ideal titles for restless children ; and they serve salads with organic ingredients, natural juices. They open until midnight.
All with a female accent
SAN LORENZO In the heart of the university, in a neighborhood close to the Sapienza University, in a small square like a town, where you will completely forget that you are in Rome, Giufa (the name of a character in a children's story, in Via degli Aurunci, 38) is one of those places, calm and pleasant, where you could stay all day. It is a cooperative founded by twenty friends (four of whom take turns serving you) opened in 2005, which sells titles from independent publishers and comics. You can accompany the reading with some of their km0 wines or some olives or play a game of table football . The **Antigone bookstore** (Via del Sabelli, 153), a couple of streets away, sells old books in several languages from 3 euros.
Giufà: read, play table football and enjoy a good wine
MONTI It is the fashionable neighborhood, right in the center, a stone's throw from the Colosseum, and where the coolest designers open their shops. There are several interesting second-hand bookstores but this time we recommend the Bohemian Bookstore (Via degli Zingari, 36) , not so much because of its offer (all the books that decorate the rooms are sold), but because its atmosphere, very bohemian, it is ideal to sit in one of its brocade armchairs and read for hours . They serve appetizers from 7 pm to 9 pm for 8 Euros (pasta, soup and first courses).
OSTIENSE Caffè Letterario (via Ostiense 83, 95). It is an intercultural space where literature (sale and consultation, also with a video library, music library and newspaper library), fashion, design, art and culture in general are mixed. Its central space changes from a cafeteria to a restaurant depending on the time of day.
Caffè Letterario is the perfect mix of literature, fashion and art