In 1880 George Cavalli established the Libreria Italiana and Cavalli Book Store on Stockton Street in San Francisco’s Little Italy. The shop became one of the most important cultural resources in North Beach and the first Italian-language bookstore. Cavalli was concerned Italians in the neighborhood were not getting the news they needed from their home country. They longed for newspapers, magazines and books that reminded them of their homeland. And now, decades later, local Italians and Italophiles still have this same desire for a connection to Italian culture. 

That brings us to a modern day Italian entrepreneur, Joseph Carboni, and his bookstore, Libreria Pino. Joseph is a San Francisco Bay Area native who finished college in Rome returning to the City in 1993 to attend graduate school at the University of San Francisco. It is no surprise that Joseph, just like Cavalli, decided the best place to locate his shop would be in North Beach, the area in San Francisco doggedly determined to cling to its Italian roots.