About us

Our main fields of interest are manuscripts (Alberto is an expert codicologist and has improved his knowledge at the Rare Book School of Charlottesville, Virginia), incunabula and 16th century books. 

A thorough understanding of classical languages (particularly Latin) and of the main languages of Western culture (English, French, Spanish and German) allows us to deal with a wide range of books and to access the scientific publications printed in these languages.

Fabrizio has also deepened his knowledge in the field of antiquarian books, attending courses at the École de l'Institut d'Histoire du Livre of Lyon, concerning textual and physical bibliography and printing types, and at Merton College in Oxford on the study of paper.

Fabrizio has been for several years committee member and treasurer of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of Italy (ALAI) and, from 2010 to 2015, its president. From 2016 to 2019 he served as committee member and vice-president of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB). From 2014 to 2022 he served as secretary of the ILAB-Breslauer Prize for Bibliography, promoted by ILAB and the Breslauer Foundation.

The Libreria Alberto Govi periodically issues catalogues and e.lists of antiquarian books.

In 2015 we opened a company in the US to expand our business. The company is called Govi Rare Book Llc and is based in New York (Phone: +1-347-479-5472, email: govirarebooks@gmail.come).