In Via Castiglione, at the corner with Via Clavature, under a portico later torn down to allow trams to transit, the bookshop founded by Antonio Brugnoli and Domenico Monari opened in 1833. In 1909, the third generation of booksellers created the first lending library in Bologna. With a subscription of one lira a month, books to read at home could be received on loan. In that same year, the Municipality of Bologna opened its own free Public Library, sparking the protests of the Brugnoli family. In any case, the bookshop remained very popular, patronised by Renato Serra, Dino Campana and Giuseppe Raimondi to name a few, until it closed in 1921.

Sources:

https://www.bibliotecasalaborsa.it/objects/biblioteca_circolante_brugnoli

Photo: Anonimo/Cineteca di Bologna