About L’ornitorinco
L’ornitorinco is an independent bookstore located in Florence’s Oltrarno neighborhood dedicated to providing a hub for local community and culture. Opened in March of 2022, Lilith Gianelle’s vision of reigniting a recently closed bookstore shielded the building from being consumed by Florence’s rapid and all consuming tourism-based gentrification. As a resident of the neighborhood, it was Lilith’s goal to preserve the building as a cultural hub and to provide a place for locals to have a community removed from the ongoing catering to tourists that all too often erodes local Florentine culture and community spaces.
Community Events
L’ornitorinco is more than just a bookstore—because she does not want to confine her business to fit inside of a conventional box, they host a diverse array of events, covering as many topics as possible. These range from book presentations, poetry slams, book clubs, writing workshops, discussions, sex-positive workshops (with La Clit), and much more. Each event and topic is curated with the goal of covering themes they are personally passionate about, such as politics, Palestine, feminism, literature, etc., fostering a strong sense of political identity and a voice for the local community.
The atmosphere of these events are curated to provide a cozy, welcoming, and comfortable space for anyone who wants to participate, weather they are new to the community or long time members. It is their goal to subdue the intimidating nature of intellectual, discussion-based events, removing any pressure for guests, regardless of their extent of knowledge on the topic. Whether you want to participate, or just listen and learn, these events are extremely open and welcoming.
Redefining Culture & Community
In today’s media-saturated society, it is easy to assume that there is a growing apathy toward reading, intellectualism, and global issues. Yet, as L’ornitorinco nears their third year in business, it has become clear that people need these kinds of spaces to congregate, share opinions, learn, and grow. People’s passions for these important topics never fizzled out, rather, they just need a space to reignite. In a post-pandemic world, tangible human connection fills the space between us more than social media ever can. According to Lilith, providing this community space for her neighborhood has helped her realize that people still do, and always will, care for each other.
For more information on upcoming events, visit their website or find them at Via di Camaldoli, 10R, 50124 Firenze, Italy.
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