Bookshop close to Balcón de Europa marks half a century

Librería Europa, the bookshop on Plaza Cavana near Nerja's Balcón de Europa, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this month.

It was in 1973 that then teacher Federico Bomberelli, along with a colleague, José Carneros, who has since passed away, founded Librería Europa.

It began as a stationery, book and gift shop. "We had some of the first souvenirs that were sold in Nerja to tourists," Bomberelli recalled inside the business that has been run since 2015 by eldest son, Eduardo, who is 53 years old.

Eighty-year-old Bomberelli and his wife María Victoria Martín have two other children, Mariví, 50, and Federico, 43, as well as three grandchildren. The retired teacher and bookseller admitted that the bookshop "has been like another child to me".

"These 50 years have gone by very quickly and, fortunately, it is still in the hands of my son. What more do I want? It's like another child, and it has lasted 50 years," he said, while predicting that the bookshop will continue for another half century.

It continues to be a meeting point for local reading enthusiasts, for those who have just discovered the joys of reading, those who go to buy newspapers and magazines and the customers who are after the latest bestsellers. "Nowadays, with the internet and the distributors it is possible to get any title," said Bomberelli.