In 2026, Florence-based Olschki publishing house marks an anniversary that spans three centuries, two world wars and transformations in culture and technology, while remaining faithful to a simple yet radical principle: the book as an instrument of knowledge, transmission and civic responsibility. From its beginnings, Olschki’s publishing history has been rooted in a clear and enduring idea of humanitas. This legacy will be celebrated through a year-long programme of events, exhibitions and public conversations.
History of Olschki
Olschki started in 1883, when Leone Samuele Olschki, the son of a Jewish printer from East Prussia, decided to move to Italy. Just 22 years old, endowed with a wide-ranging humanistic education and an uncommon command of both ancient and modern languages, Olschki arrived in Verona and found work at the antiquarian bookshop Münster. Within a few years he had assembled an extraordinary collection of Dantean texts, which he offered to libraries in the United States as early as 1885.
In February 1886, Leo Olschki officially registered his antiquarian publishing bookshop. The activity was intense, fuelled by the wide circulation of books from the collections of suppressed monasteries, to which Olschki gained access thanks to his close ties with the ecclesiastical world and his command of Latin. In 1889, he founded L’Alighieri, his first journal and the first editorial gesture in a long-standing dialogue with the poet that would become a constant feature of the Olschki catalogue.
In 1890, Leo Olschki moved to Venice for an international outlook. There, between Riva del Vin and the Procuratie of Piazza San Marco, he intensified his antiquarian activity while forging a connection with the great typographic tradition of the 15th century. Aldus Manutius and Lazzaro Soardi became his ideal models: the former would even lend his name to one of Olschki’s sons, while the latter inspired the publishing house’s emblem, the initials LSO, destined to become its distinguishing mark. In 1893, the first book bearing the new imprint was published, Figure dantesche by Giuseppe Crescimanno, the first building block of an increasingly self-aware editorial project.
In 1897, the decision was made to move to Florence, the perfect place to blend antiquarian book collecting, publishing and overseas relationships. The bookshop first opened on lungarno Acciaioli and later lungarno Corsini. In 1902, the ex libris bearing Dante’s profile and the motto nihil difficile volenti symbolically sealed the adoption of Florence as Olschki’s chosen home. It was during these years that the Monumenta Typographica took shape, an extraordinary collection of incunabula that marked a turning point in the publisher’s fortunes. The complete acquisition of the collection by the American magnate Henry Walters and his subsequent appointment to the board of the Metropolitan Museum paved the way for a relationship with Pierpont Morgan. The great collector’s visit to the Florentine bookshop consecrated Olschki on the international collecting scene and laid the economic and symbolic foundations for that initial phase of success, enabling Leo Olschki to think on a grander scale, both typographically and editorially.
The new resources and the prestige earned across the Atlantic translated into a deeper rootedness in Italian cultural life. In 1909, Leo Olschki founded the Giuntina printing house, with the ambition of reviving a great typographic tradition, and the following year he inaugurated the headquarters in the Art Nouveau villa on via Vanini on the banks of the Mugnone. Conceived not merely as a workplace but as a space for meetings, lectures and intellectual exchange among scholars, collectors and writers, the villa soon became a vibrant cultural hub. It was in this context that Olschki’s relationship with Gabriele d’Annunzio took shape. From this intense, if at times challenging, rapport emerged Olschki’s most ambitious typographic undertaking: the monumental edition of the Divine Comedy, introduced by d’Annunzio’s proem and published in 1911 as a tribute to the 50th anniversary of Italian unification, an exemplary synthesis of philology, book art and national vision.
The war abruptly interrupted this flourishing period. Hostility toward citizens of German origin, fuelled by nationalist sentiment, targeted Olschki, who became the object of openly antisemitic attacks. By 1915, he chose exile in Switzerland, yet even far from Italy he refused to suspend his editorial mission. In Geneva, he founded SALSO (Société Anonyme Leo S. Olschki), through which he maintained a connection with the Florentine headquarters. From this position, Olschki launched Archivum Romanicum in 1917, under the direction of Giulio Bertoni. In the midst of global conflict, he reaffirmed his faith in the Republic of Letters, understood as a supranational space for dialogue and collaboration among scholars. This principle would later be articulated explicitly in the Humanitas manifesto, a declaration of faith in humanistic ideals as a bulwark against hatred, war and the fractures of history.
Leo Olschki’s return to Italy after the war marked a structural shift. The antiquarian book market lost its central role and publishing became the core of the enterprise. His sons, Cesare and Aldo, joined the business: Cesare remained connected to antiquarian activity, while Aldo would bring organizational and managerial change to the publishing house. During this period, the major series that still define Olschki’s identity were born: the Biblioteca dell’Archivum Romanicum (1921) and the Biblioteca di Bibliografia Italiana (1923), alongside a sophisticated network of journals, from Giornale Dantesco to Archivio Storico Italiano and La Bibliofilia, which created a network of authors, scholars and institutions.
In the 1930s, production continued to grow steadily, and 1936 marked the first major anniversary: 50 years of activity celebrated in Florence. Yet the shadow of racial laws quickly fell. From 1938, the company was forced to censor its own name, and the historic emblem survived only under the imposed label Bibliopolis. Leo Olschki lost his citizenship and took refuge once again in Geneva, where he would die in exile in 1940, never able to witness the company’s revival.
The war and the destruction of Florence in 1944 physically erased much of what had been built: the bookshop on the lungarno, the Art Nouveau villa and the operational headquarters. Yet they could not destroy the idea. During the war, Alessandro, Aldo Olschki’s son, served as driver and interpreter for Lieutenant Frederick Hartt, one of the Monuments Men tasked with protecting Tuscany’s artistic heritage. Across the Atlantic, Leonardo, Leo’s eldest son and a Harvard professor, together with colleagues, provided crucial intelligence to the Allies for locating endangered artworks, a contribution that led to the formation of the “Harvard Group”.
After the war, Aldo Olschki made the decision to remain in Florence and rebuild from the ruins. During these years, the catalogue expanded into new fields such as musicology, archaeology and etruscology, while also growing through prestigious journals and collaborations. Olschki’s growth continued steadily, although the 1966 Florence flood destroyed much of the warehouse, leaving one of the deepest scars in the history of the catalogue.
From the 1970s onwards, dozens of new titles were published each year and the publishing house positioned itself to face relentless technological transformations. The fourth generation entered the company in 1974 with Daniele in charge of institutional relations and production management and three years later with Costanza, later joined by her daughter Serena, overseeing promotion and the historical catalogue. A decision was made whereby the digitization of journals and historical series complemented, rather than replaced, the printed book. At a time when publishers were opting for lighter, cheaper products, Olschki remained strategically anchored to print. The gamble proved successful: fine paper became a recognizable hallmark.
Olschki reached a new milestone in 2024 with the entry of Gherardo Olschki, the fifth generation. Despite his youth, Gherardo’s mission is already clear: to create a new cultural observatory, a reference point for dialogue with readers, other publishers, the book industry and cultural institutions—Florentine ones in particular—seeking a home to safeguard their heritage or confront the crucial challenges facing the book today. In 2026, 140 years after its founding, Olschki celebrates not only its longevity but an idea of publishing as a responsible cultural practice, capable of weathering crises and looking toward the future without betraying its roots.
Celebrating 140 years of Olschki
The celebrations begin in February with an exhibition at the National Central Library of Florence, running from February 26 to March 14, which will retrace key moments in Olschki’s history through a selection of landmark publications. On February 28, this will be followed by an event shedding light on the substantial Fiammetta Olschki collection, now hosted by the National Library. From February 27 to March 1 at Stazione Leopolda, Olschki will take part in the TESTO publishing fair, hosting an event titled In the Writers’ Workshop. The discussion will bring together Domenico Scarpa, Lucio Coco and Valerio Cappozzo for a conversation (in Italian) on the sources of inspiration and working habits of some of the great writers of the 20th century. The event will draw on the publication of Thomas Mann’s previously unpublished text In the Writer’s Workshop and will also mark the launch of Pollini, a new Olschki series dedicated to cultural cross-fertilization.
The celebrations will culminate in the Salone dei Cinquecento on June 10 with a full day of events, bringing together authors and institutional partners who have contributed to the success of the Olschki publishing house. The event, which will also be broadcast via live streaming, will open after institutional greetings with addresses by Father Bernardo and Professor Carlo Sisi. Daniele Olschki will then take the floor to present a brief history of the publishing house, followed by contributions from Carlo Ossola, Lucia Tongiorgi Tomasi, Cristina Acidini, Lorenzo Bianconi, Giuseppina La Face, Edoardo Barbieri and Giuliano Pinto, who will focus on the scholarly sections of the catalogue. The day will conclude with remarks by Gherardo Olschki, offering an overview of the company’s current direction and future prospects.
In September, the publishing house will open the doors of the 16th-century Villa Doni along viuzzo del Pozzetto, just outside Florence, which has long served as its historic headquarters. Visitors will have the opportunity to discover the company, explore its history and learn more about its tangible and intangible heritage. The event also anticipates future developments, including guided tours and the planned opening of a literary café.
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