The last Remainers Bookstore in Italy has announced that it will close its doors at the end of July 2010. The Remainders chain, which sold stocks of out-of-print books recovered from publishers warehouses at greatly reduced prices, was established in the 1960s by Italian entrepreneur Biagio Melloni. The iniziative was new to Italy and was an instant success with the general public as well as collectors searching for lost editions. Famous clients included Federico Fellini, Ingrid Bergman, Alberto Moravia, Pablo Neduda and numerous Italian politicians and stars of the cinema and theatre world.
The Remainers store in Romes central Piazza San Silvestro is the last left of a chain. The Milan store closed in 2005. Rome store director Rodolfo Giamona blamed rising costs, linked with drops in sales due to the present financial crisis.