This street is Barbaria de le Tole, which is where tree trunks would be worked and fashioned into wooden tables or ‘Tole’ in Venetian. The origin of the name is rather bizzarre and still disputed. Some say that Barbaria was a playful word used by workers who compared themsevles to barbers trimming the fuzzy splinters of the raw wooden logs.
Others claim Barbaria comes from the fact that centuries ago a great number of these wooden boards would be shipped to the modern states of Marocco, Algeria and Tunisia, often referred to as Barbarian lands.
Libreria Acqua Alta
Walking along the Barbarie de le Tole, you’ll flank a small courtyard with an overflow of bookstands spilling out of Venice’s most curious second-hand bookshop; the Acqua Alta, which refers to the high water that floods many of Venice’s streets in winter time. The theme is clear from the start, as in the middle of the first room is a full size gondola layered with books. Also, of growing interests among visitors, is the staircase made out of books which gives onto the canal. If you see a cat or two jump on a precarious pile of books, don’t be alarmed, they are of course part of the scenery. The selection of books is wide, from literature, poetry, and local history to vintage, comics, and photography, with a great number in various foreign languages.
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