High Water Bookstore

What it is and where it is

Not far from St. Mark's Square, on Calle Lunga Santa Maria Formosa, there is a place that will literally make your eyes glaze over. It is an unusual, ingeniously decorated bookstore that overlooks one of the many canals that run through Venice. The high water, which often floods the place, not only gave rise to the name but to the entire design. In fact, books are stacked in magical disarray inside little boats, gondolas, and tanks, so on high tide days culture floats undisturbed!

Why it is special

When you travel you generally look for the meaning of a place, which mostly lurks in the realities that characterize it: sights, monuments, squares, museums...Now, believe it or not, in this microcosm of paper is contained the essence of Venice, pigeons aside. The books are countless and of the most diverse genres, but no multimedia catalog will help you in your search, so arm yourself with curiosity and rely on your intuition. With a bit of luck, it will be the book that finds you!

Not to be missed

After you have familiarized yourself with the place and completed your research, I recommend scouring the bookstore because there are some very special nooks and crannies set up. First of all, to the left of the entrance, is the outdoor reading corner: a wall of books, a small table, and two chairs create a pleasant and original setting for flipping through a few pages. Next, on the back wall, a door opens to a staircase made entirely of books that leads to a panoramic terrace. Finally, on the right, there is an overlook to the canal and a gondola in which it is possible to enter and pause for a while.

Reading corner

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