Rolando Ugolini had an unforgettable Florentine face – worthy of inclusion in the line up of St Peter’s admirers frescoed on the walls of the Brancacci Chapel – and he is much missed from the Via di Sant’Agostino where he held his “court” outside his bookshop.

When I arrived in Florence for my three month stint at Centro Fiorenza language school in August 2007 , I think that his bookshop was one of the few shops open at the end of the summer holidays. Being book mad, I really wanted to go inside and check it out but sadly for me today was the first time I ever dared to go through the door.

This was largely because Rolando always planted himself outside the door as if guarding the contents of his lair from potential purchasers – and I clearly wasn’t a local – or able to read much Italian!

That said once I, myself, became an acknowledged part of the community in the Oltrarno he always greeted me with a wry smile every time I hurtled past his door, and I became increasingly entranced by the remarkable growth of dusty volumes spilling through the door as if making their last bid for freedom from within this amazing interior.

Meeting his daughter Paola Pietro today she confirmed my fears that he would not be returning to his post but “Ha deciso che era il momento di riposarsi un po’ ed andare aprire una bella bottega in “cielo”” – He has decided it was time for a rest and gone to open a beautiful bookshop in the sky!

The fascinating part of this story is how Ronaldo came to have this bookshop in the first place – he won a big pile of books in a bet!

The humble beginning of this shop was through another man selling used books from an old bench on the same street,  Via di Sant’Agostino , shown below.

In 1947 Ronaldo was  known as one of the last “ragazzi del brodo di trippa“, which I believe described the really poor post-war children surviving on charitable supplies of a Tuscan broth flavoured by tripe.

This tough existence made Ronaldo street smart, and he became clever at playing cards, which enabled him to win the right to use this “pitch” to sell old books from this bench with a successful hand of Poker.  He went on to also become clever at selling his books, augmented by further gambling success, until finally he was able to buy his pride and joy – the shop which he maintained for 60 years until his death in October 2014.

Fittingly Ronaldo Ugolino has been buried in the Oltrarno in the Chiesa del Cestello  aka the Chiesa di San Frediano in Cestello – staying in his quarter close to one of the most beautiful views across the Arno in Florence.

Whether he is still selling books, eating tripe soup or even keeping up his gambling skills may Ronaldo be Happy and Rest in Peace.