Algani

The store loved by tourists worldwide, since 1927

The most famous newsstand in Piazza della Scala, where politicians and singers of Teatro Alla Scala went to “read themselves”, today it is a landmark for people looking for souvenirs of Milan.

Last October the 6th, the favorite store of tourists from all over the world turned ninety-two: here it is possible to find all sorts of memories of Milan. First it was the newsstand in Piazza della Scala, where figures of the caliber of Craxi and Spadolini, but also Gorbachev and Di Pietro passed to “read themselves” on the front pages of the newspapers, but also where Riccardo Muti and Claudio Abbado, Pavarotti and Carla Fracci passed to read how journalists celebrated success or declined a fiasco. It all began in 1927, when husband and wife Bruno and Elena Algani inaugurated the activity of “retail trade of newspapers, magazines, books and postcards”, giving life, in fact, to one of the first international bookstores in Milan. Almost fifty years must pass before the addition of souvenirs among the items offered to customers, destined then to gain the upper hand on everything else, thanks to the evolution of the city, of which this place is a direct and precious witness.

In 1983, Francesco Semeraro and Francesca Morelli entered as new partners, who then went on to sell to Roberto Buti and Maurizio Marinoni. It was 1998 when, after insistent requests and greedy offers, the Rizzoli bookshop manages to snatch the acquisition of the company branch for the sale of newspapers, newspapers and periodical magazines, going to give new life to the editorial giant in the Gallery. Algani, with the two sons of the previous members, continues to offer the best of Milan’s memories to tourists, who increasingly crowd the city center.