Is this the most beautiful bookstore in the world?

Luigi Frizzo was warned that the property he was about to lease could be in a flood zone because of its proximity to the water and rising sea levels in Venice, Italy. It actually sparked his decision to name his bookstore Acqua Alta (High Tide).

In addition to coming up with his bookshop's name, Frizzo also took proactive steps to create a flood-proof infrastructure plan to protect more than 400,000 books, including first editions published more than a century ago. He decided to store hundreds of books in bathtubs and gondolas, long row boats that have provided transportation through Venice's narrow canals since the 11th century. 

In case you didn't know, Acqua Alta is located less than a mile north of Piazza San Marco, the principal public square in Venice. It's easily flooded because it is one of the lowest areas in the city, but it's only a nine-minute walk from the piazza to the famous bookstore. Visitors arrive via Calle Lunga Santa Maria Formosa (in the Castello neighborhood), a narrow street where a billboard proclaims Libreria Acqua Alta is “the most beautiful bookshop in the world.”

Visitors to Acqua Alta can see firsthand the innovative infrastructure upgrades the bookstore had to implement after the flood in 2019, one of the worst floods in in Venice's history. Water levels reached more than six feet above average sea level.  

Today, gondolas and bathtubs were put on top of large wooden tables to shield the bookstore’s precious goods from the threat of rising water levels. While they were initially preventative measures, the gondolas became an emblematic feature for millions, making Libreria Acqua Alta arguably one of the most famous bookstores in the world. Its staircase, for example, is among the most photographed spots in all of Venice.

“The staircase was created to store encyclopedias. I had already papered the courtyard, where two walled-up windows could not be reopened and I started to move the encyclopedias into the garden, where I then began what would later become the staircase,” said Frizzo, the 82-year-old bookshop owner who was born in Trissino, a small town in the Veneto region of northern Italy.

He added, “I would never have imagined that what I considered a simple practical solution would have had so much success.” 

(Related: Free things to do in Venice.)

I saw it on TikTok!

In 2002, Libreria Acqua Alta opened as a gathering place for locals to enjoy an eclectic selection of books that spanned from Venetian Art and the storied history of the Republic of Venice to novels and comics inspired by the city. 

The bookstore is also home to secondhand books such as the first edition of Le Fiale, a collection of poems written by Italian poet Corrado Govoni. This rare find—hidden from the gaze of the patrons— was published in 1903 in Florence and costs 1,500 euros ($1,619 USD) today. 

Much like many European cities, Venice didn’t escape the increasing number of visitors fueled by its growing popularity on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Acqua Alta benefited from the social media phenomenon and can be seen in thousands of vertical videos on TikTok and hashtags on Instagram posts used over 50,000 times.

At the entrance, where a billboard proclaimed Acqua Alta as "the most beautiful bookshop in the world," visitors form a line and move ahead slowly and intermittently, passing by a large gondola located in the heart of the building, abandoned bathtubs filled with magazines, piles of rare and seemingly old books, and crossing paths with the resident black cat, Dominique.      

Most guests to the popular bookstore join dozens of others on a pilgrimage to head to the terrace, where they must wait their turn to climb up the staircase for the long sought-after social media snapshot with a view of the River Tetta.  

While the city of Venice strives to curb overtourism and day-trippers by charging an entry fee, Acqua Alta continues to welcome the crowds while adopting some organizational rules, according to Diana Zanda, a supervisor at Acqua Alta since 2023. 

“We ask groups of 10 or more people to call us in advance,” says Zanda. “As for the staircase, we had to assign a bookstore employee to advise visitors that they only have a few minutes to take a photo, which helps to keep the line moving along.” She says the bookstore welcomes between 2,000 and 5,000 people on a busy day. 

“Most of the visitors are tourists who come because they saw something on Instagram or they saw someone who created a video about us on TikTok,” adds Zanda. A female patron interrupts, “Yes, I saw it on TikTok!”

(Related: A look at Europe’s tourist taxes—have they helped curb overcrowding?)

Bookshops are tourist attractions

Jorge Carrión is the author of Bookshops, a book that explores the significance of bookstores as cultural and intellectural spaces as well as their role in communities. Carrión believes that since 2013, places like Acqua Alta are no longer just bookshops, but they have evolved into popular tourist destinations.

“Cultural tourism, like all tourism, began to change in 2010 with the emergence of Instagram. At that time, a new type of tourist attraction began to exist, one that went viral and that encouraged the circulation of your selfie and TikTok has only amplified this trend,” says Carrión.    

He continues, “Until 15 years ago, bookshops weren’t part of this game, now they are basically four: El Ateneo Grand Splendid in Buenos Aires, Lello in Potto, Shakespeare and Company in Paris, and Libreria Acqua Alta. They aren’t the best, but they are the most photogenic.” 

So, how does Acqua Alta manage to survive economically at a time when visitors are increasingly more interested in taking selfies with books in unique shops, instead of buying them? 

Many visitors buy bookmarks, postcards, calendars, and magnets as souvenirs, but selling secondhand books, out-of-print editions and other rare finds also helps keep the TikTok-famous bookshop afloat. 

(Related: These are the must-see sights of Italy's Veneto region.)