This Venice bookstore can float: Libreria Acqua Alta HiddenGem

The floating Italian town of Venice gets a lot of credit for its historic beauty and romantic alleys, and why not! But If you’ve ever aimlessly wandered through the narrow bylanes and gotten lost among bricked walls, you would know that the real jewel of Venice is something else. Tiny art galleries and handmade souvenir shoppes, boutique restaurants so carefully tucked in the labyrinthine lanes are a whole different brand of romantic.

I visited Venice a few summers ago on my Italian foreign exchange trip. My friends and I had seen quite a few North Italian towns before we hit this Venetian group of islands. So to say, we had had our fair share of visiting museums and Italian duomos. This was the weekend getaway we wanted to do little differently. Our best bet was to ditch digital maps, public transport and famous, crowded tourist-y sites.

While on our unusual rendezvous, we met a group of locals who suggested we check out this offbeat library, lesser known to most tourists. We set out to find this library with a square piece of paper with the place’s name on it and just a few hours in hand. Little did we know, we had landed at one of the most beautiful libraries in the world! And that’s not something you’d realize the moment you reach this place. The entrance is quite understated with books and postcards arranged not unlike any other storefront in Venice. A narrow, tiny gate leads you into the store. The inside is filled with a wide ranging variety of books- from Venetian history to cookbooks to travelogues or even Vintage comics. It’s usually filled with people, so on first visit, you really have to figure your way around this little store, overflowing with character. Although crammed and stuffed at every corner you see, this bookstore will delight you with the many tales it has to offer.

Libreria Acqua Alta

Libreria Acqua Alta literally translates to the ‘bookstore of high water’. This place constantly gets flooded by Venice’s rising tides. To combat this issue, the bookstore’s owner, Luigi Frizzo, has piled books in water basins, bathtubs, canoes and even an actual gondola that sits at the front end of the store. In events of the usual flooding, these would simply float, protecting the literature.

The idiosyncrasy of this place is also reflected in their “fire exit”, a door, leading directly into the canal. Move further along to find a small courtyard where you can literally climb a flight of old encyclopedias to get a view of the neighbourhood. To really complete the look of the place- resident cats catching up on their dozy naps, its unique display of beaded chandeliers, mannequins dressed up as old Venetians, canoes and sailor’s wheel slowly unfold the beauty of this place in a way that it stays with you.

Getting there:

Libreria Acqua Alta is located at about a 7 mins walk from St. Mark’s Square, an iconic landmark in Venice. The locals mostly walk everywhere and it’s a highly walkable town. You can also check the route lines and take a Vaporetto, Venice’s water buses to transpose locally.

Staying in Venice:

I would highly recommend staying at least 1 night in Venice, even better if you manage more. We were 5 friends travelling and got ourselves a sweet Airbnb in Cannaregio (the old Jewish Ghetto) that is very safe at any time of the day. Booking for a stay in Venice can be a little tricky. You might find a lot of listings from neighbouring places similar to, but not main town Venice. Make sure to check the location on map if you intend to stay in and around the 5 main islands of Venice, another thing I’d highly recommend to also avoid unnecessary travel.

To see more pictures from my travels or for impromtu, daily musings- follow me at raashi.singhi