Link to Founded in 1925 by the will of Ernesto Pozzi, the Libreria Antiquaria Mediolanum celebrates its hundredth anniversary in the heart of Brera. A century of culture, passion, and resilience spanning four generations, with 20,000 ancient volumes that recount the history of human thought and Italian and European bibliophilia.Founded in 1925 by the will of Ernesto Pozzi, the Libreria Antiquaria Mediolanum celebrates its hundredth anniversary in the heart of Brera. A century of culture, passion, and resilience spanning four generations, with 20,000 ancient volumes that recount the history of human thought and Italian and European bibliophilia.
In 1925, while Italy was living through the years of the Fascist regime and Europe was unknowingly preparing for new wounds, a silent yet determined stronghold of culture and civic resistance was born in Milan: the Libreria Antiquaria Mediolanum. It was founded by Ernesto Pozzi, a man of humble origins, a trade unionist, a socialist journalist, a persecuted political figure, but above all a passionate advocate of the book as an instrument of emancipation and freedom. One hundred years later, that intuition has endured across generations, keeping alive one of the most prestigious and long-standing antiquarian bookshops in Europe.
Today, Mediolanum is far more than a bookshop: it is a living archive, a meeting place for scholars and collectors, a secular sanctuary of knowledge. Its holdings include around 20,000 volumes printed between the fifteenth and twentieth centuries, along with a precious collection of maps, decorative prints, and illustrious autographs. Yet what truly makes it unique is its historical breadth: every shelf tells the story of Western thought, from early editions of Plato, Aristotle, Vesalius, and Galileo to the classics of the twentieth century, passing through Dante, Petrarch, Ariosto, and Leopardi.
Since 1998, its home has been an elegant eighteenth-century palace on Via del Carmine, in the heart of the Brera district. Here, one breathes an atmosphere that eludes time and welcomes anyone driven by curiosity and respect for the printed word. It is not uncommon to encounter scholars, bibliophiles, jurists, and intellectuals. In the past, among them were figures such as Benedetto Croce, Luigi Einaudi, Piero Sraffa, Palmiro Togliatti, Raffaele Mattioli, Guido Rossi, and—among the most famous—Umberto Eco, who purchased here Ubertino da Casale’s Arbor vitae crucifixae Jesu Christi, a source of inspiration for The Name of the Rose.
The history of the bookshop is also the history of the Pozzi family, which for four generations has safeguarded its identity, passing down the business as one would a moral legacy. From the founder Ernesto, to his son Elfo, to his grandson Luca, and finally to Giacomo, who leads it today with his wife Nausicaa Ferrini at his side. A passing of the torch that has weathered political crises, wars, reconstruction, and technological revolutions, without ever betraying its core value: the book as an object of culture, not of commerce.
To celebrate its centenary, Mediolanum has published a special catalogue entirely dedicated to illustrated books of the Italian Renaissance, featuring over one hundred rare titles. Among them stands out the celebrated Hypnerotomachia Poliphili by Francesco Colonna, printed by Aldus Manutius in 1499, a perfect example of Renaissance typographic art.
Today, the Libreria Antiquaria Mediolanum is an institution recognized internationally. Yet what strikes most is not only the quality of the volumes it houses, but the consistency with which, for a century, it has preserved its spirit: that of a workshop of knowledge, where the book is at once a historical testimony, material beauty, and a bridge between generations.
The challenge of the future—in an age dominated by digital speed and the volatility of information—is to continue being a place where time slows down, where culture is not consumption but experience. In this, the Libreria Antiquaria Mediolanum is not only a witness to the past, but a guide for the present and for what is yet to come.
(Associated Medias) - Tutti i diritti sono riservati