Independent Bookshop in Firenze — 3 Independent Bookstores with Plenty of Personality in Florence, Italy

As befits the birthplace of the Renaissance and a city of culture and art, Florence is dotted with small but charming independent bookstores. From a space where the city’s storied history meets a modern sensibility to places where you can enjoy books alongside a range of cultural and artistic programming, here are three distinctive independent bookstores that reveal the long-standing identity of Florence.

Words & Photos Parc Jinmyoung
In collaboration with *Booking.com
* For this journey, we traveled with Booking.com’s Connected Trip, which offers an integrated travel experience covering everything from flights to accommodations, transportation, and activities. The heart of the service is the seamless connection of bookings, itineraries, and payments within the Booking.com app. Like a personal travel guide, it also impresses by suggesting tailored travel offerings based on your past trips, current location, and interests. If you need to change a reservation or have a question, you can handle it right inside the app.

An Old Theater’s Perfect Transformation: Giunti Odeon

Palazzo dello Strozzino, once a palace of the Strozzi family, one of Florence’s prominent noble houses in the fifteenth century, was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, who completed the Duomo’s dome, and Michelozzo di Bartolomeo. Converted into a movie theater in the 1920s and known as Cinema Odeon, it passed in 2023 into the hands of Giunti, one of Florence’s historic publishers, and was reborn as a cultural complex combining a cinema and a bookstore. Because the renovation was carried out under the strict regulations of the local government, there is real pleasure in spotting the carefully restored architectural elements that have regained their former glory, including the glass dome ceiling, the columns and fountain with intricate ornamentation, and the Art Nouveau walls and lighting.
Pass through the elegant arched entrance and step into the stone building, and you are overwhelmed by the tall, grand ceiling reminiscent of an opera house and the huge screen that fills the front of the hall. A film plays on the screen, while the shelves are packed with some 25,000 books. Climb the stairs and the highlight of the space unfolds: some 190 golden seats once used by Cinema Odeon. Today they are seats where you can move freely between books and film and linger as long as you like. On one side is a small gallery offering a glimpse into the history of the space, along with tables and chairs for reading or working. Most surprising of all, everything here is free (even the Wi-Fi!). For travelers weary of Europe’s seat charges, this is a truly precious refuge.

Hours: Daily 10:00am–8:30pm

Address: Piazza degli Strozzi, Firenze

Website: giuntiodeon.it/en

An Art Platform Dreaming of a Modern Renaissance: Todo Modo

If you happen upon Todo Modo while wandering the alleys, it’s easy to take it for an ordinary bookstore like any other. Don’t judge too quickly! Pass between the shelves in the narrow shop and follow the arrow marked “Uqbar,” and you’ll find as many varieties of wine and stories as there are books. Opened in 2014 on the antiques street of the Santa Maria Novella district, Todo Modo is a café and wine bar. It is a cultural space run by a team of booksellers, publishers, and winemakers, where you can read over coffee, wine, or a meal. You’ll find hand-curated books, from novels, poetry, and essays to secondhand foreign-language titles. The bar offers a menu of pastries and pasta along with a wide list of Italian wines. The interior, where plants and wooden furniture blend together, feels warm and relaxed. Tiered seating set between bookshelves that fill both walls looks like the audience seats of a theater. Fittingly, cultural events such as readings, film screenings, and small concerts are held here from time to time.

Hours: Mon–Sat 9:00am–7:30pm, closed Sundays

Address: Via dei Fossi, 15/R, Firenze

Website: todomodo.org

The Link Between Indie Bookstores and Vegetarian Food: Brac

Along the Arno, just a step away from the crowds and noise, there is no signboard; only books neatly lined up in a magazine rack quietly announce that this is a bookstore. Like many buildings in Europe, it looks small from the outside, but once you step in, a spacious interior greets you like a hidden secret room revealing itself. Go a little deeper and a savory aroma drifts softly through the air, and soon an open kitchen comes into view. This is Brac, a vegetarian restaurant and bookstore where you can find Tuscan vegan cooking alongside books on contemporary art. It is run by two friends: a vegetarian cooking specialist and a book lover. Every dish, from vegetarian lasagna and ginger-potato tortelloni to ravioli with Gorgonzola and potatoes, is made with 100 percent organic seasonal ingredients and tofu. If you want to sample the abundant flavors and colors of Tuscany, the Tris Dish is an excellent choice, since you can pick three of the chef’s many dishes and have them served on a single plate. Add a fresh, deeply savory sauce and the flavor deepens even further. Exhibitions and cultural events on the themes of food and art are held regularly, so we recommend checking the schedule on the website before you visit.

Hours: Daily 10:00am–12:00am

Address: Via dei Vagellai, 18/R, Firenze

Website: www.libreriabrac.net