Located downtown on the lower level of an office building (you have to walk down a circular ramp), this is a booklover's haven. But not just any booklover -- you must have patience and curiosity in this bookstore. Da Vinci is a Brazilian institution; academics, politicians and intellectuals from all over the country come here to browse and buy (those who can't make it place special orders). Shelves reach 20 feet up the walls and spread through a series of interconnecting rooms. Serious books in many languabvges (English, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Italian, German, etc) are shelved according to category, not language, and cover most topics in the humanities. You could walk out with a book on astrophysics on one hand, an encyclopedia of African art in the other, and a Russian-English dictionary in your back pocket.
This is not the kind of bookstore where you come with your coffee to get a free read of the latest literary magazine. If you can't find what you want (and you probably will get sidetracked before you do in this store) the expert booksellers will put the book in your hand, or if they don't have it, they will order it for you.
Nova Livraria Leonardo da Vinci is celebrating 50 years of business this year (2002). In honor of this, they are organizing more than the usual amount of discussions and cultural forums, which usually occur off-site.
www.leonardodavinci.com.br
+55 221 533 2237