Libreria Sopra la Penna

Libreria Sopra la Penna is an independent bookshop in Lucignana, a hamlet of roughly 170 residents in the municipality of Lucignano, in the province of Lucca, Tuscany, Italy. It was founded by the poet Alba Donati, who left a career in Florence to open a bookshop in her native village. The shop opened on 7 December 2019 after a crowdfunding campaign launched in April of that year. On 30 January 2020 a fire destroyed the premises, and the shop was rebuilt with the help of the village community and readers; it reopened on 23 May 2020, after the end of Italy's COVID-19 lockdown. The bookshop occupies a retro-style cottage and offers a curated selection of fiction, poetry, biography, essays, crime fiction and children's books, alongside literary objects such as Jane Austen tea, necklaces bearing Sylvia Plath's words, botanical perfumes inspired by Emily Dickinson, bouquets of roses made from old pages of Pride and Prejudice, and the 'Libri Muti' series. It also runs a 'Blind date with a book' service, in which a wrapped book is sold with only a few hints about its contents. Sopra la Penna has become a destination for readers from across Italy and abroad, with visitors travelling from Sicily to Trentino. It hosts a literary festival, 'Little Lucy', whose sixth edition is scheduled from 13 June 2026. The shop also maintains an online store selling selected titles and unique artistic creations. Its story has been told in Alba Donati's book 'La libreria sulla collina' (Einaudi), and the shop has been described as a 'cottage letterario appenninico' — an Apennine literary cottage.

Libreria Sopra la Penna was founded by the poet Alba Donati in Lucignana, a village of about 170 inhabitants in the municipality of Lucignano, province of Lucca, Tuscany. According to the bookshop's own account, the idea began with a conversation between Donati and Romano Montroni, founder of the Librerie Feltrinelli chain, in which Donati said she wanted to open a bookshop in her village; when Montroni asked how many residents it had, she answered '170', prompting his incredulous reply, 'Sei pazza' ('You're crazy'). The shop was financed through a crowdfunding campaign launched on a night in April 2019 and opened on 7 December 2019. On 30 January 2020, a fire destroyed everything, forcing the founders to start over. The village community and the wider community of readers rallied to rebuild, and within little more than a month the shop was ready; however, the COVID-19 lockdown delayed the reopening until 23 May 2020, when the green retro gates were finally opened. Since then, more than a thousand people have visited the shop. The bookshop is housed in what it describes as an 'Appennine literary cottage' and offers a curated selection of fiction, poetry, biographies, essays, crime fiction and children's books, as well as literary objects: Jane Austen tea, necklaces with words by Sylvia Plath, botanical necklaces and perfumes dedicated to Emily Dickinson by Peggy, bouquets of roses made from old pages of Pride and Prejudice, the magical paper boutique of Elinor Marianne, and the Libri Muti. It also participates in the international 'Blind date with a book' trend, selling wrapped books with only a few hints about their contents. The shop has attracted visitors from across Italy and abroad, from Sicily to Trentino, drawn by what the shop calls the 'incanto del luogo' (enchantment of the place). It runs an online shop offering hundreds of carefully selected titles, unique products and artistic creations. It also hosts the Little Lucy literary festival; the sixth edition is scheduled to begin on 13 June 2026. Alba Donati's book 'La libreria sulla collina' (Einaudi) tells the story of the bookshop.

• Crowdfunding campaign launched

• Bookshop opens in Lucignana

• Fire destroys the bookshop

• Bookshop reopens after lockdown

• Sixth edition of Little Lucy literary festival begins

A destination independent bookshop and literary community hub in a remote mountain village, blending curated bookselling with literary tourism and festival programming.

• Curated book selection

  Fiction, poetry, biographies, essays, crime fiction and children's books.

• Blind date with a book

  A wrapped book with only a few hints about its contents.

• Literary objects

  Jane Austen tea, Sylvia Plath necklaces, Emily Dickinson botanical perfumes, paper roses, Libri Muti.

1. 1Libreria Sopra la Penna official websitelibreriasopralapenna.it
2. 2Chi siamo – Libreria Sopra la Pennalibreriasopralapenna.it
3. 3Wikidata: Libreria Spra La pennawikidata.org