The Libreria delle donne [Women’s Bookshop] Milan, opened in 1975. It was founded by a group of 15 women of different ages, experiences, interests, with the idea to work in a collective of only women and to highlight the female literary production, very much overlooked at that time.
“We have collected funds, mainly from the sale of paintings offered by women artists, and with this sum we have rented and furnished the venue. The practical work has been responsibly managed by a cooperative insomuch as this appeared to us as the least rigid form of association provided for by legislation [...] The bookshop is not funded and must necessarily be self-sufficient. The commercial aspect, therefore – although remaining instrumental with respect to the political moment – cannot be neglected. As any other shop, the bookshop opens onto the street and anyone can come in, man or woman. [...] We wanted to open a place that is political for the simple reason that here women can meet without shutting themselves up in the private and without subordinating their interests to those of institutions and organizations. In our opinion, this opportunity represents in itself a political achievement over the enforced privatization of our relationships and against the systemic neglect of our interests”.
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