Hoepli: when books are not enough

Hoepli is one of the most important publishers in the Italian cultural landscape. Founded in 1870 by Ulrico Hoepli in the Galleria de Cristoforis in Milan, it has distinguished itself over the decades through its vast range of books for sale, until 2001, when an online purchasing service was also launched. With over one million Italian and foreign titles, it was one of our choices when launching La Novella Orchidea: the hoepli.it website features a dedicated shop for works signed by Ricardo Tronconi.

It came as quite a surprise, then, when in the first weeks of February rumours began to circulate about the possible “collapse of the giant.” But let us take things in order.

A visionary Swiss man in Milan

On 7 December 1870, Ulrico Hoepli, a 23-year-old Swiss, arrived in Milan and took over Theodor Laengner’s bookshop on Corso Vittorio Emanuele, in the heart of the city. Young as he was, he already had nearly ten years of experience in the book trade. Newly unified Italy appeared, in his eyes, a market rich with potential. The following year, Hoepli began his publishing activity by releasing a French grammar.

But Ulderico’s true innovative turning point came with scientific publishing. A field that was virtually non-existent yet increasingly in demand in a context of industrial transformation. After publishing R. Lepetit’s Manuale del tintore, in 1877 Hoepli collaborated with Giuseppe Colombo — the most distinguished theorist of Lombard industrialisation — on the Manuale dell’ingegnere, now in its 84th edition. His focus on technical and scientific publishing became, within a few years, the defining feature of the catalogue. The “Manuali Hoepli” series expanded rapidly, reaching its peak between 1891 and the First World War.

The “Manuali Hoepli”

Hoepli built solid relationships with the Istituto Tecnico Superiore (the future Politecnico di Milano), the Brera Astronomical Observatory, and other Milanese scientific institutions. A network that allowed him to identify the real educational needs of the market and to engage qualified authors. By 1900, Hoepli was considered “the scientific web of the era” for its ability to disseminate relevant and up-to-date technical knowledge.

The number of Manuali published is estimated to exceed 2,000 titles on a wide range of subjects. Technical books illustrating arts and trades. In-depth works on parapsychology, graphology, and palmistry. Illustrated fairy tales, travel guides, collections of classics, and women’s magazines. In some years, the titles published — between new releases and new editions — rose to over a hundred, supported by a workforce of barely thirty people across the publishing house and bookshop combined. Among the most significant books published around the turn of the twentieth century are the edition of I Promessi Sposi illustrated by Gaetano Previati and the reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Atlanticus.

The two World Wars

Ulrico Hoepli celebrated fifty years of publishing activity in 1921. His house was among the leading publishers in Italy, indispensable in the dissemination of technical and scientific culture. Publishing, through the Hoepli model, had finally shown that it could be an engine of social and economic progress — not merely a commercial enterprise.

The First World War, however, put a brake on Hoepli’s expansion, slowing it down above all due to a drastic reduction in trade with foreign countries. In the final years of his life, Ulderico entrusted the publishing house to his nephews Erardo and Carlo. The former took charge of the antiquarian bookshop, at the time one of the largest in Europe. Lhe latter oversaw the publishing side, stepping into Ulderico’s role upon his death in 1935.

During the Second World War, the warehouse and bookshop were unfortunately destroyed. But the Hoepli family demonstrated a remarkable capacity for recovery. In 1945, Carlo and his sons Ulrico and Gianni reopened the publishing house and bookshop on Corso Matteotti. They inaugurated the current premises on Via Ulrico Hoepli in 1958. In the 1970s and 1980s they focused on developing educational, computing, and economics publishing. And it was in the 1990s that the Libreria Internazionale Ulderico Hoepli reached its six operational floors. With over 175,000 titles on its shelves, it became one of the largest and best-stocked bookshops in Europe.

The end of an Era

Today, now in its fifth generation with Barbara Hoepli as president, the company continues its specialised publishing activity in manuals, school and university textbooks, languages, and dictionaries. A testament to the close relationship the publishing house has maintained, from its very origins, with the changes taking place in society and the world of work.

In the first weeks of February, however, news emerged of a deep crisis at Hoepli, stemming from conflicts among shareholders and failed negotiations with Mondadori and Feltrinelli over the sale of certain company stakes. It is also true that 2025 brought several negative signs in the balance sheet compared to the previous year.

On 18 February, during a meeting with the trade unions, the ownership failed to provide answers regarding the strategies needed to resume operations. Furthermore, the board of directors meeting, originally scheduled for 25 February, was postponed week after week until 10 March, when workers also held a symbolic strike.

The liquidation of the historic Hoepli bookshop in Milan is now a reality. The future of the shop and the publishing house that bears its name remains uncertain. One thing is clear: Hoepli will no longer be what it has been for nearly 160 years.