Fundação Livraria Esperança - Madeira

“A Bookshop, a story of four generations, a labyrinth, a XVI century palace, 107,000 different titles all displayed by cover…a MUSEUM!”

Founded in 1886 by Jacintho Figueira de Sousa, Livraria Esperança is a cultural and historic part of the Madeira Island. The bookshop has been in the same family for several generations with Jorge Figueira de Sousa taking over the business in 1996.

This sixteenth century palace is a labyrinth of books with more than 70 different literacy sections around the store, all housed in more than 20 internal rooms. There’s over 100,000 covers available in store, and what makes this bookshop especially unusual is that they display EVERY book by cover, not spine, a world only we think.

With its cultural significance and plentitude of books, Livraria Esperança should definitely be on the itinerary if you’re visiting the area.