Milan's Libreria delle Donne: Feminist Bookshop as Political Laboratory Since 1974
Established in December 1974, the Libreria delle Donne in Milan was created as a cooperative and bookshop exclusively for women, honoring Sibilla Aleramo. Founded by the Milan Women's Bookstore Collective during the Italian feminist movement of the 1970s and inspired by Carla Lonzi, the shop showcased works from artists such as Carla Accardi and Mirella Bentivoglio, offered at a 'political price.' Initially, it sold unsold stock of women-authored essays, novels, and art. With a model based on voluntary work to eliminate hierarchies, the Libreria participated in public discussions, published anthologies, and continues to operate at Via Pietro Calvi, housing over 7,500 titles by 3,700 women. Since 2001, it has also highlighted contemporary female artists, linking to wider feminist movements like #MeToo.
Key facts
- Libreria delle Donne opened in Milan in December 1974 as a women-only bookshop and cooperative.
- It was founded by the Milan Women's Bookstore Collective, inspired by the Librairie des Femmes in Paris.
- Artists including Carla Accardi and Nanda Vigo donated works for a portfolio sold at a 'political price'.
- The bookshop's economic model involved voluntary half-day shifts and low rent from Milan's municipality.
- Carla Lonzi's writings, such as 'Let's Spit on Hegel' (1970), influenced the feminist movement.
- The bookshop published anthologies like 'Le madri di tutte noi' (1982) featuring female writers.
- It remains open in Via Pietro Calvi with over 7,500 works by 3,700 women writers.
- Alex Martinis Roe's film 'A story from Circolo della rosa' (2014) explores these feminist histories.
Entities
Artists
- Alex Martinis Roe
- Carla Lonzi
- Claire Fontaine
- Chiara Fumai
- Carla Accardi
- Elvira Banotti
- Mirella Bentivoglio
- Valentina Berardinone
- Tomaso Binga
- Nilde Carabba
- Dadamaino
- Amalia Del Ponte
- Grazia Varisco
- Nanda Vigo
- Lea Vergine
- Sibilla Aleramo
- Jane Austen
- Sylvia Plath
- Charlotte Brontë
- Emily Brontë
- Anne Brontë
- Elsa Morante
- Gertrude Stein
- Anna Kavan
- Ingeborg Bachmann
- Virginia Woolf
- Ivy Compton-Burnett
- Pier Paolo Pasolini
- Natalia Ginzburg
- Italo Calvino
- Serena Castaldi
- Lia Cigarini
- Chiara Marcucci
- Daniela Pellegrini
- Corrado Levi
- Donatella Franchi
- Francesca Pasini
- Alighiero Boetti
Institutions
- Libreria delle Donne
- Milan Women's Bookstore Collective
- Rivolta Femminile
- Circolo della Rosa
- Edizioni delle Donne
- La Tartaruga
- Anabasi
- Il Corriere della Sera
- Lotta Continua
- Il Manifesto
- Potere Operaio
- ArtReview
- Silver Press
- Psychanalyse et politique
Locations
- Milan
- Italy
- Paris
- France
- Utrecht
- Netherlands
- Sydney
- Australia
- Barcelona
- Spain
- Rome
- New York
- United States
- London
- United Kingdom
- Via Pietro Calvi