It was in 1955 that Joaquim Machado opened a small bookshop in front of Coimbra’s famous Arco de Almedina – one of old gates of the walled city – and named it… ALMEDINA. This chain of bookshops, dotted across Portugal from north to south, is recognised as bringing to students, professionals and the wider public the best books by the best authors. The shop in the Atrium Saldanha has over the years become a landmark in the city’s book trade, where readers seek out the very latest titles by Portuguese or foreign authors. The space is increasingly a meeting point for launches of new titles as well as for talks, debates and workshops on various subjects of interest to civil society and to authors themselves. With a range of specialist titles in technical fields, above all law, the shop is also seen by many as an important bookshop for Portuguese-language countries in Africa, reflecting the group’s work with those countries.