Only a few days remain until the long-awaited opening of the Mondadori Bookstore | MA in Naples. The bookstore, located in the city’s central Galleria Umberto I, will open on Monday, 5 August with Mayor Gaetano Manfredi in attendance for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10.30 am.

“We have always wanted the Mondadori Bookstore | MA flagship store to be in Naples, an ideal city as Neapolitans are passionate readers”, said Antonio Serpe, Chief Retail Officer of Mondadori Bookstore | MA Italy.

“The project, in a symbolic place like Galleria Umberto I, also represents the highest expression of our philosophy: to place culture and art, in all its forms of expression, at the heart of things and to draw people, especially young people, as near to it as possible. That’s why we’ve worked diligently and passionately at the technical committee set up by the Mayor in collaboration with all the institutional figures involved, in order to solve the problems related to the location and make all the energy that characterises this extraordinary and colourful city, a landmark dedicated to culture and entertainment, available to the public”, Serpe concluded.

“Like Mondadori Retail, we’re proud of completing this project, and the vision and goals which we shared from the very beginning: to create a cultural and experiential centre at the service of the community, which will become a place where we can promote reading, entertainment, eco-sustainability and culture in its broadest sense”, said Carmine Perna, Mondadori Retail’s Director. “We believe that the strength of the MA format proves how important it is to invest in cultural initiatives that can adapt to present and future challenges by developing new business models”, concluded Perna.

The Mondadori Bookstore | MA in Naples has an area of 1,000 m², with an offer of 148,000 volumes from the great classics to best sellers – including fiction, non-fiction and miscellaneous -, from the We are Junior area, which includes children’s books, educational games and illustrated fairy tales to stimulate children’s imagination, to the innovative department dedicated to manga and comics, Just Comics, which winks at Gen Z.

Overlooking the historic Teatro Salone Margherita in the San Ferdinando district in the heart of Naples, the bookstore features furnishings that harmonise with the Art Nouveau atmosphere of the spot, respecting the architectural features of the time and combining them with the company philosophy of MA (間): smart, young, and eco-friendly. An ideal space where one can take a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, devote oneself to reading and harmonise with nature, thus representing a completely innovative way of understanding, promoting and creating culture. The bookstore is also very focused on and sensitive to contemporary social and environmental issues by organising various initiatives.

“Naples is the ideal city to host one of Italy’s largest smart, young, eco-friendly bookstores because it has always been a cultural centre”, said Nello Nunziata, Head of the Point of Sales’ Development Division. “It’s no coincidence that, along with the vast Mondadori Store offer, the bookstore has a space dedicated to music and cinema, book buvette areas, free coworking hubs and reading spaces reserved for reading and study, as well as a space for wine tastings and an exclusive area reserved for events, ready to host some of the most important personalities on the local, national and international art scene”, Nunziata finished.

Two large touch screen totems allow for social interaction, while self-checkout click & collect services allow customers to make their purchases online on the bookstore website and collect them in-store. There’s also Trovalibro, which gives customers the chance of finding the text they want from among those available in store, simplifying the reader’s experience in the bookstore and make it more pleasant.

The store also has a large photo gallery area, dedicated to the art and contemporary photography of young emerging talents, giving them the opportunity to exhibit their work in the heart of the gallery from time to time. This is the case for Michele De Cesare, Gerardo Massaro, Fabio Monk and Davide Orfeo, who will open the exhibition, Metamorfosi napoletana.

The Mondadori Bookstore | MA is a completely innovative fusion concept, inspired by Japanese culture and translated from simple ideas into concrete projects by the Ricciardi Architetti studio, in collaboration with architect, Selene Amico. Tall furniture that echoes the natural line of tree trunks, creating a gallery that envelops visitors and invites them to soak up a culture and make it their own, stimulating and satisfying their curiosity. Combined with bonsai trees and sansevierias – chosen on purpose because they purify the air of benzene -, everything inside the bookstore recalls nature and eco-sustainability: from the lamps to the design fittings, from the architectural choices to the quality of the materials – marine poplar wood and recycled iron -, skilfully worked by master carpenters and Coppola’s historical partners. The walls are also painted using eco water paints, which reduce the amount of free formaldehyde in the atmosphere by 80%, and with the floating floors, the store is guaranteed to have a lower environmental impact in the installation of all systems.

MONDADORI BOOKSTORE | MA expresses a young, smart, innovative, eco-friendly bookstore concept for Gen Z and beyond. The philosophy is expressed through architectural choices and the materials used to create them, and in publishing ideas and initiatives. The eco-sustainable cultural concept grew out of the entrepreneurial background of the Neapolitan-minded creators and Mondadori Retail, the managing company of the largest network of bookstores in Italy, Mondadori Store. Mondadori Bookstores can be found throughout Italy with 14 stores in Udine, Gravellona, Milan, Turin, Arma Di Taggia, Reggio Emilia, Grosseto, Rome, Salerno, Sassari, Sestu, Catania and Naples. Other openings are planned for 2024 across important Italian cities.

MONDADORI BOOKSTORE I MA
Address: Galleria Umberto I, 45/46 Naples (NA)
Opening hours: Mon–Sun 10:00–21:00
Phone: +39,081 4241243
Email: napoli@mabooks.it
IG: @choose.ma – TikTok: @mondadori_ma
https://www.mondadoristore.it/negozi