Mondadori Bookstore | MA, the green, young and smart bookstore concept reaches the capital with its public opening on Saturday 17 February at 12 noon at the Maximo Shopping Center in the Laurentina district.

A new cultural centre dedicated to promoting reading and entertainment, highlighting the importance of eco-sustainability in an extraordinary area of Rome marked by the presence of numerous historical buildings and tourist attractions.

The tenth opening in Italy: this is a real achievement. The format is inspired by the Japanese philosophical concept of MA (間): “an indefinite space between heaven and earth where people can empty their minds and nourish their souls”, a place where one can stop amid the frenzy of everyday life and cultivate one’s passions, an innovative way of understanding and creating culture. The 300 m² of the bookshop show a green, eco-friendly mark, from the materials used for its construction — marine poplar, recycled iron and sustainable water-based paints — to the design itself — tall, curved furniture reminiscent of tree trunks, bonsai trees and sansevieria.

The new Mondadori Bookstore | MA houses a wide range of 22,000 titles, from the great classics to best sellers, including fiction, non-fiction and miscellaneous genres, with areas reserved for younger readers: We are Junior, the space with children’s books, educational games and illustrated fairy tales to stimulate little ones’ imagination; and the innovative Just Comics department dedicated to manga and comics with a nod to Generation Z. There is also a space dedicated to music, with a wide selection of CDs and vinyls, and a photo gallery for exhibitions and displays. For the opening, it will host “Camera 260” by the artist Matteo Melis, followed by “Napoli by light” by the Neapolitan artist Luca Del Prete, one of the most appreciated young emerging landscape painters. There is also a free co-working hub, guaranteeing comfort thanks to a special book buvette, a dedicated events forum ready to host presentations and signings and a free reading zone.

In addition to green and young, the bookstore is also smart. Multimedia aspects are within everyone’s reach in the bookstore, with the presence of multimedia and interactive totems to encourage social interaction and gain information on the hottest titles. Also present are self-checkouts, the click&collect service and the Trovalibro function, which allows customers to locate their desired title among those available in the store. For the less tech-savvy, a team of nine experienced and passionate booksellers are always present, ready to accept customers’ requests and satisfy their curiosity.