Cui Ying
02:05
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Gozini Bookstore in Search of Books Europe (02:05)
What if your grandparents left you 23 rooms and all 23 rooms were filled with books? The Italian man, Edoardo Chellini, did so: keep selling books. However, he knew from an early age that he had to deal with books all the time, because his father and grandfather were "book sellers", he grew up in the book pile, and he came to the bookstore to help on holidays. There are more than 150,000 old books in their store, which can be arranged together for 2 kilometers.
The bookstore, called Libreria Gozzini, is located opposite the Accademia Gallery in Florence.
Gozini Bookstore
Before visiting the bookstore, I was first drawn to its Facebook. "On May 12, in this book you can find recipes for grandmother's omelette, a book published in the 50s of the last century; On May 26, this is a red rose print from an early 20th-century botanical book; On June 1, this was an advertisement for Pirelli Tire, who also produced swimsuits and umbrellas from derby magazine in the 1950s and 1960s; On May 23, the historic Martini Company advertisement was selected from derby magazine in the 1950s and 1960s... "The bookstore owner often posts some interesting pictures and books on Facebook, which not only reflect his own taste, but also promote the bookstore." In addition to this, the bookstore owner also recorded some videos introducing the bookstore and the book. In the video, the young and handsome boss talks about it, quite a bit of the style of the owner of the Internet celebrity bookstore.
Bookstore owner Eduardo Chierini
One hot summer day, I followed Google navigation and found this bookstore. The bookstore was lined up in front of the store, but they were all tourists queuing up to see Michelangelo's David, and occasionally a few tourists walked into the bookstore and quickly walked out. This bookstore is located in one of the most crowded areas in Florence, and I think it would be a fast food restaurant or an ice cream shop that would make a lot of money. Walking into the bookstore, I was greeted by a black and white puppy, which looked at me curiously, without a word, very docile. It was later learned that it was Balto, a 10-year-old "bookstore dog." The owner greeted the guests, took me on a tour of the bookstore, and told me about it.
"Bookstore Dog" Balto and bookstore book card catalog box
One of the oldest in Florence, the Gozzini Bookstore was founded in 1850 by Oreste Gozzini and was originally located near Piazza del Duomo, when the name was "Dante's Bookstore". The young Oreste Gozini was full of love for ancient books. In 1887, the bookstore's business was so prosperous that it opened a branch in Rome. In the 1940s, Gino, orest Gozini's son, sold the bookstore to his son-in-law, Renato Chellini, who passed it down as a family business. The "Gozini" in the name of the bookstore is taken from the founder's surname, and the current owner's surname is different from the bookstore founder's surname, which is why. In 1959, the bookstore moved to its current location. The current owner, Eduardo Chierini, 30, is the sixth generation of the family and took over the bookstore five years ago.
Eduardo told me that more than 20 years ago, the bookstore was identified as a "historic house," the equivalent of a museum, to remain as it was. Without permission, antique furniture, lamps, etc. in the store cannot be moved at will. Eduardo majored in book history and worked in the family business as soon as he graduated. Eduardo believed that books were not only carriers of culture and ideas, but that books, especially old books, were themselves a work of art. These books have different styles, bindings, colors, illustrations, and printing methods, and are integrated not only with literature and history, but also with the history of printing. The paper, binding lines, bumps and bumps of the book can all be touched and perceived, and these elements, together with the content of the book, provide the reader with a full range of emotional information. At the same time, Eduardo also regarded the old book as a commodity, believing that the price of the old book was not determined by the content of the book, the time of publication and the appearance, but by the market. The customers of the Gozini Bookstore are mainly lovers of ancient books and collectors. If a book is rare and a lot of people want to get it, the price of the book will naturally be high.
A corner of the bookstore
The Gozini Bookstore has a wealth of rare books, including manuscripts from the 16th century and first editions by important poets of the 20th century. In addition, the bookstore has a lot of books on law and economics, and many famous jurists have gone to the store to find books. Some notable personalities, including the Italian philosopher Benedetto Croce, former Italian President Luigi Inodi, and Italian journalist Giovanni Papini, have wandered among the store's shelves. Beginning in 1998, bookstores digitized books, creating an online bookstore with more than 80,000 books. Nowadays, no matter where in the world, people can learn about and buy the books in the store through the online bookstore of The Gozzini Bookstore.
The 23 rooms of the Gozini Bookstore are filled with books, but only 5 or 6 are currently open. Because apart from Eduardo and his dad, there were only 3 staff members in the shop. Interestingly, the books in the bookstore are not categorized, but books on various themes are mixed together on the shelves. However, all books are numbered and have corresponding card and e-book cards, which can be easily found in the book card catalog boxes and online bookstores produced in the 50s and 60s of the last century.
Eduardo was unmarried but already had a girlfriend, and thinking that many family bookstores were "mom-and-pop" models, I asked him if he wanted his future wife to work in the family business. He replied that he didn't want work and life to go hand in hand, "After all, this is my family's business, not necessarily her hobby." "Eduardo's dog, Balto, has long been integrated into the work and life of his owner. It has been commuting with its owner for 10 years and has become a well-known "bookstore dog". Eduardo told me that Balto was originally the name of a famous Siberian sled dog, and there was a statue of it in Central Park in Manhattan, New York, and he was so moved by the story of this dog that he named his dog Balto. Barto was quiet, it never bit the book, it never barked. Together with Eduardo, it guards the bookstore, greets book lovers who come to find books, and witnesses old books meet new owners.
Eduardo Chierini and Barto
(Cui Ying: Journalist, documentary filmmaker, columnist, PhD from the University of Edinburgh, loves walking and literature, likes to collect old illustration books from all over the world, and has published books such as "British Illustrators" and "British Illustration Book Collection". ）
Editor-in-Charge: Gu Ming
Proofreader: Luan Meng