Since 1976, books that
smell of sea salt
La Libreria del Mare was shaped inside a former delicatessen in the heart of Milan. The space still keeps the charm of historic shops, thanks to the preserved period furniture in cherry wood and the original ceilings. What is more, the layout of the ground floor recalls the old decks of galleons, with a forecastle and a sterncastle!
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Our story
ORIGINS
An enterprise against the wind
The rest of the bookshop was originally furnished with trestles, wooden boards and blue cloths; the basement, on the other hand, was the result of reclaiming the building’s old cellars… A bare space, with crumbling walls and a great deal of damp.
Back then the range of publications was not very wide; as a result, the bookshop had a small sitting area and an enormous aquarium of over a thousand litres. Fortunately, in the years that followed the number of publications grew enormously and, sadly, we had to give up those spaces.
The '80s and '90s
A shared course
After several changes of management, in the early 1980s Piera Casari began to shape the bookshop into what you see today! For the ground floor she commissioned new hand-crafted wooden furniture, in keeping with the style of the old shop; in the basement she chose to tile and insulate the old cellars with a clever system of double walls and vaulted false ceilings.
At the turn of the millennium, La Libreria del Mare expanded its range of books and other products for sale year after year. It also promoted sea culture not only in Milan, but in Genoa too! The Boat Show hosted the bookshop’s stand many times, a point of interest for every enthusiast. Finally, the creation of a website with an e-commerce store opened the doors of our shop beyond national borders as well!
At the turn of the millennium, La Libreria del Mare expanded its range of books and other products for sale year after year. It also promoted sea culture not only in Milan, but in Genoa too! The Boat Show hosted the bookshop’s stand many times, a point of interest for every enthusiast. Finally, the creation of a website with an e-commerce store opened the doors of our shop beyond national borders as well!
New millennium
Going digital
The bookshop has also started numerous collaborations with public and private institutions in the area, including Associazione Librerie Indipendenti Milano and BookCity Milano. Not forgetting Ocean Film Festival Italia and I giovedì in libreria run by the City of Milan.
In 2019 the complete overhaul of the website and the e-commerce store officially brought the bookshop into the new millennium! In addition, the creation of our Sea Blog gave new life to a project that has been running for almost half a century.
Thanks to the work done over the decades,
La Libreria del Mare boasts an extraordinary section devoted to pilot books and nautical charts… But that is not all! Today we have a selection of over ten thousand books and other items, which every day attracts a varied and curious clientele.
In 2019 the complete overhaul of the website and the e-commerce store officially brought the bookshop into the new millennium! In addition, the creation of our Sea Blog gave new life to a project that has been running for almost half a century.
Thanks to the work done over the decades,
La Libreria del Mare boasts an extraordinary section devoted to pilot books and nautical charts… But that is not all! Today we have a selection of over ten thousand books and other items, which every day attracts a varied and curious clientele.
Awards and recognition
Admitted to the Register of Milan Neighbourhood Bookshops by the City of Milan
2025
Listed in the Register of Quality Bookshops by the Ministry of Culture of the Italian Republic
2024
Featured by Vins Gallico in the book Storia delle librerie d’Italia published by Newton Compton Editori
2022
Listed in the Register of Quality Bookshops by the Ministry of Culture of the Italian Republic
2021
Selected among the most beautiful bookshops in the world by the German publisher Gestalten in the book Do you read me?
2020
Catalogued by the Italian publisher Clichy in the book Guida tascabile delle librerie italiane viventi
2019
The crew
Simona
BOOKSELLER
ILLUSTRATED BOOKS
ILLUSTRATED BOOKS
A bookseller through and through, Simona has a great passion for literature and photography. The bookshop’s Social Media Manager, she is our expert in illustrated books, adult fiction and children’s books!
Alessandro
SEA BLOG
IMPORT / EXPORT
IMPORT / EXPORT
Passionate about the sea and about history, Alessandro runs the Sea Blog and the bookshop’s website, and manages the import-export department. If you have a special search to make, he is the man for you!
Lorenzo
COLLABORATOR
Born far from the sea, he sailed through a thousand adventure books before landing in Milan, where he founded Sernicola Labs, specialising in the boundless oceans of the internet. He built and looks after our e-shop.
Piera
FOUNDER NAUTICAL CHARTS AND PILOT BOOKS
A lover of the sea, the sun and sailing, Piera has sailed the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, and she is our expert in nautical charts and pilot books!
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