Libreria Berardini

via San Giacomo della Vittoria, 87 - 15121 Alessandria (AL)
Tel. +39 0131 265208
E-mail: berardini@libero.it

Alessandria was once a land of great booksellers, able to carry out a key role in city life. The Boffi bookshop on via dei Martiri was legendary throughout the 20th century and the regular meeting point for key intellectuals of the city. Carlo Gilardenghi in his “Canton di rus e dintorni” describes how, in the 1930s, the windows of this store could open up a world to a young person in a provincial city. And how could we forget the bookshop on via Dante belonging to Cesarino Fissore, a great friend of Umberto Eco? Its owner also became president of the provincial Associazione Commercianti and truly embodied the figure of bookseller and citizen of Alessandria through and through. The Gutenberg bookstore on via Caniggia also played a significant role in the city where many intellectuals of Alessandria loved to spend the afternoon discussing. Someone, joking, spoke of “Circolo Gutenberg”. Today there is only one business which courageously continues to fly the flag of an independent bookstore in the city. Its name is Berardini, and it is in the historic center, on via San Giacomo della Vittoria. The store opens in 1962 thanks to Rocco Berardini, originally book agent and representative. He comes from Puglia and, having to work with Vallardi publications, he has to choose between Calabria, Basilicata and Alessandria as his area. His mother suggests Piedmont, and our city. The store specializes in school books and books for children and young people: the bookstore still enjoys a large following. As all true independent bookstores, it also becomes a place of discussion, where people meet to chat and exchange opinions. In 1980, Rocco dies and the business is taken over by his wife Flora and their daughter Franca, who have availed of the collaboration of Simona since 1998. She is a true point of reference for customers for her expertise. Since 2007, upon Flora’s death, Franca continues to manage the store, keeping unchanged the items that have always characterized the bookstore. On one side, the special attention to school publications for kids and teenagers, on the other the ability to satisfy all customer requests. Franca was literally born and has grown up among books and in the business on via San Giacomo della Vittoria. She has kept her love for reading and culture, continuing alone to uphold the tradition of independent bookstore in Alessandria.