Where? Rome, Italy
Visited: February 2010
Our discovery of the Libreria il Mare (also known as Il Mare International Bookstore) was quite accidental, but it only made it more rewarding. We found ourselves in front of its door while actually searching for a different English bookstore in Rome (which is no longer in business, as it turned out later on) and couldn't resist the window exhibition. As the name hints ('il mare' means 'the sea' in Italian), this bookstore is exclusively specialized in everything associated with the element that covers about 70% of the Earth's surface - water. Upon entering the bookstore we were met by a life-sized scuba diver. The nicely but not excessively decorated interior which also includes model boats and ship and even a steering-wheel of a ship helps to create a true "maritime" atmosphere. Even the shape of the bookstore and the way it's divided reminded us of a ship, or perhaps we were too influenced by our surroundings.
Libreria il Mare has managed to cope well with the usual dilemma of all specialized bookstores - to offer a stock which would confirm their expert knowledge of the given field, but at the same time not to scare away the random visitors without any special prior experience with that field of knowledge or interest. We fell in the category of random visitors and we can confirm that the stock didn't fail to impress and keep us interested for quite some time. The bookstore offers a mixture of academic titles, beautiful non-fiction picture books, fiction titles somehow connected to the topic and lots more. One whole shelf is dedicated to books about lighthouses and several shelves are filled with titles dealing with pirates. Among the other topics that are covered in separate sections you can find different aspects of oceanography (ocean life, climate, exploration, geography), nautical maps and lots more. Not to mention all sorts of gadgets and accessories.
Libreria il Mare is no newcomer to the bookstore scene in Rome. It has been around since 1975 and it has moved several times until it reached its present location in 200 square meter space in Via di Ripetta. The books on stock are available in several languages, and although the majority of more than 20 thousand titles that the bookstore carries is in Italian, the English books are scattered around in all sections and they make for a decent selection. There is even a tiny section with second-hand books at discount prices. We would recommend Libreria il Mare to any passionate lover of the ocean as well as to anyone with at least a slight interest in it.
Libreria il Mare has managed to cope well with the usual dilemma of all specialized bookstores - to offer a stock which would confirm their expert knowledge of the given field, but at the same time not to scare away the random visitors without any special prior experience with that field of knowledge or interest. We fell in the category of random visitors and we can confirm that the stock didn't fail to impress and keep us interested for quite some time. The bookstore offers a mixture of academic titles, beautiful non-fiction picture books, fiction titles somehow connected to the topic and lots more. One whole shelf is dedicated to books about lighthouses and several shelves are filled with titles dealing with pirates. Among the other topics that are covered in separate sections you can find different aspects of oceanography (ocean life, climate, exploration, geography), nautical maps and lots more. Not to mention all sorts of gadgets and accessories.
Libreria il Mare is no newcomer to the bookstore scene in Rome. It has been around since 1975 and it has moved several times until it reached its present location in 200 square meter space in Via di Ripetta. The books on stock are available in several languages, and although the majority of more than 20 thousand titles that the bookstore carries is in Italian, the English books are scattered around in all sections and they make for a decent selection. There is even a tiny section with second-hand books at discount prices. We would recommend Libreria il Mare to any passionate lover of the ocean as well as to anyone with at least a slight interest in it.
Libreria il MareAddress:
Via di Ripetta 239
00186 Rome
Website: http://www.ilmare.com
Phone and Email:
06 3612155 / 06 3612091
ilmare@ilmare.com
Working Hours:
Mon-Sat 9:30-19:30
Sun closed
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