Tagliata, the village reborn with a street of 7.000 books

All volumes are donated, and anyone who wants them can take them. A project born from the passion of a local journalist.

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Tagliata, a hamlet of Costa Serina, in the province of Bergamo, was a village destined to remain abandoned and uninhabited. But its history changed thanks to the books, and in particular to a project that has sparked the enthusiasm and curiosity of thousands of visitors from all over the region. The main street of the town has been paved with books, arriving at approx 7.000 volumes. The volumes come mostly from donations and can be chosen and taken away by visitors, but this was enough to transform the small village into a sort of widespread library, with a series of collateral cultural initiatives.

The project is the brainchild of Giovanni Cortinovis, a sports journalist originally from Busto Arsizio, but with strong ties to Tagliata, where his family home was located and where he spent his summers. In 2024, he came up with a very simple idea: to place a small cabinet with about fifty books outside the church , calling it the "Tagliata Village Summer Library . "

Then something happened that he probably hadn't foreseen: people began bringing more books . And then more. The small shelving unit was no longer enough. Donations increased until that piece of furniture became a veritable library: books began appearing under porches, on landings, in front of garages, and in other corners of the village.

By the end of summer 2024, Cortinovis found himself with over a thousand books . From there, the most original idea was born: what if, instead of putting them on shelves, we put them all on the street?

In June 2025, he ran a test. Then, on August 6, 2025 , Tagliata hosted the first “ Book Street ”: around 3.000 volumes arranged for 45 meters along the main street. The books were protected by a film and were not trampled on . At the end of the event, visitors could choose some and take them home.

The symbolism is beautiful: the road represents the journey a person makes through reading . It's not simply a spectacular installation, but a way of saying that reading means moving forward, discovering, and changing perspective.

But books have begun to bring people back . First the donors, then the readers, the curious, visitors, and summer residents. A reading group, "Tagliati per la lettura," has also been formed , and in 2025 a literary prize dedicated to Bergamo writers was established.

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