Our Story

Every time La Fenice - Phœnix unica semper avis, the one and only phoenix - rises from the flames, we're pretty sure she opens a good bottle of wine and enjoys her renewed joie de vivre.

And what better way than in the company of a book that's been validated by centuries, nerding out over delightful, quirky details? If the book happens to be about wine, wonders, or richly illustrated works, so much the better.

This Fenice, embodied by two partners in life and business, decided (after years in corporate life) that it was time to stop and smell the books.

So they put their international experience and network to good use in the antiquarian world, combining it with personal passions: one Fenice founder is a perennial wine student and has an encyclopedic knowledge of cookery; the other has a master's degree in art and antiques.

On top of these subject matters, they both like animals, travel, science and its little odd sister, occulta - so La Fenice's offer leans naturally into these fields.

They started collecting, here and there. One day they designed a pretty logo inspired by the Liber Chronicarum. And just like that, La Fenice Antiquaria was born.

We like taking life lightheartedly, but when it comes to books and bookish knowledge, we are darn serious.

Paola

Paola holds a master's degree in History of Art from the University of Padova, Italy - yes, that Padua, founded in 1222, where Galileo taught and where Elena Cornaro became the first woman in the world to earn a university degree, in 1678. She graduated with a research on a Venetian engraver of the 18th century (excerpts were published by the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, among others) - and a love for books and illustrations was born.

Between 2003 and 2008 she worked for several antiquarian booksellers and institutions in Italy, while taking a post-graduate specialization in Antiquarian Books and History of Western Publishing at the University of Verona, with a summer camp extension at the University of Oxford.

The following almost 20 years saw Paola pursuing a completely different career in marketing, in fashion and home, in Italy, Sweden and the US. She currently holds an executive position at an American design and home furnishing corporation.

Paola speaks Italian and English fluently, reads Latin, and has a basic understanding of French and Spanish. She did take a bunch of Russian lessons, and on a good day she could humor you with her Swedish.

But the love for books was too strong - and the wish to keep learning, too. In 2026, one year after opening La Fenice, Paola attended the antiquarian bookselling seminar at CABS-Minnesota (St. Olaf University).

On top of the obvious love for art, design and books, Paola loves animals in every shape and form (except the ones with too many legs to count!), traveling around the world, and pizza!

Giovanni

Giovanni grew up in a household where collecting and appreciating quirky old stuff was a way of living. His appreciation for beautiful stuff drew him towards studying Design at Politecnico di Milano - a world-class school deeply connected to Milan's status as a global fashion and industrial design capital.

After traveling and studying different disciplines around the world (China, Portugal, South Africa), he came back to Italy, where he started a career in technology, holding product manager positions for some of the leading tech companies in the world - first in Italy, then in Amsterdam, Stockholm, New York and Los Angeles.

His corporate job didn't hold him back from pursuing his real passion: wine and food. Giovanni holds an Italian culinary arts degree from Istituto Alberghiero Motti (he's been cooking home-made pizza for years, for Paola's greatest delight), and a WSET Level 3 Award in Wines. He definitely likes a good glass of wine - but he loves a good study about wine, too.

Giovanni speaks Italian, English and Portuguese fluently, and reads Latin and ancient Greek, and retains some basic Chinese from his two years in Beijing.

When Paola passed him the book bug, Giovanni's natural curiosity pushed him towards building his knowledge at the antiquarian bookselling seminar at CABS-Minnesota (St. Olaf University) and the CalRBS course on Descriptive Bibliography at UCLA.

On top of these more scholarly pursuits, Giovanni is a very sporty guy. He used to do whitewater kayaking, throwing himself down some of the most beautiful river gorges in Italy and around the world (he kayaked the Grand Canyon in 2008). His new passion is roller skating - jumps, axels and all.