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- [00:10]
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How can the everyday features of a city landscape become an extraordinary boon to their urban environment? In Florence, a humble bookstore which opened in 2013, has become an integral part of its community and an important reminder that supporting locals in a tourist hotspot is endlessly important. You're listening to Tall Stories, a Monocle production brought to you by the team behind the Urbanist. I'm Andrew Tuck. In this episode, Grace Charlton takes us to Florence's literary stalwart, Todo Modo.
- [00:47]
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Located on Florence's Via DEI Fossi, just a stone's throw away from the Arno River, Todo Modo is a bookshop with a cafe and an enoteca tucked in the back that first first opened its doors in 2013. Fast forward over a decade later and today the business has grown into something of a media empire, one that includes a publishing imprint, an annual book fair called Testo, a radio station, a newsletter and a kiosk in the northern Florentine suburb of Fiesole. Founded by husband and wife duo Maddalena Fossombroni and Pietro Torrigiani, the ambition behind Todomodo was to provide a space for locals to meet and exchange IDE books and reading recommendations. Both Fossombroni and Torrigiani are Florentine, born and proud to be so. But it was when they noticed that their friends who they'd grown up with, were leaving their hometown to seek greener, less tourism oriented pastures in Milan or Rome that they saw the need for a community driven space. Their intention with Todomodo was to offer something to Florentine locals that doesn't cater to mass tourism or international students on a semester abroad, a particularly salient topic in Florence, the city attracts over 5 million visitors each year, a number that dwarfs its population of around 380,000. Almost a million if you account for the wider metropolitan area. As such, Todomodo is a space that provides respite from the crowds. But perhaps most importantly, Todomoto is a space that fosters a cultural conversation that goes beyond the heyday of the High Renaissance of the late 15th century century, a time when Florence led the way in all things related to the arts, most notably thanks to Botticelli, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. Though an undeniably important time for Florence, indeed for the whole world, the Italian city today can at times feel as though it has remained fixated on this era and is struggling to move on. Florence's historical heft and heritage is ultimately something of a paradox. It attracts cultural attention and culturally minded people. Yet struggles to move the conversation forward, but a new generation of Florentines is aspiring to go beyond Dante, the Uffizi, and the lasting influence of the Medicis, the banking family that acted as the main patron of the arts throughout the Renaissance. What started as a bookshop and now comprises an entire community, Todo Modo is at the forefront of the movement, ensuring a continuing cultural relevance for Florence in the 21st century. Foreign.
- [03:35]
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Stories is a monocle production from the team behind the Urbanist. This episode was written by Grace Charlton and produced and edited by David Stevens. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to receive new episodes every week, and also pick up a copy of our new Escapist magazine, where you'll find more about Florence, all written by Grace. I'm Andrew Tuck. Goodbye and thank you for listening. City Lovers.