Ulrico Hoepli

Ulrico Hoepli (; born Johannes Ulrich Höpli, ; February 18, 1847 – January 24, 1935) was a Swiss-Italian publisher, the founder of Hoepli Editore.

Biography

Born into a farming family in Tuttwil, a small village now part of Wängi, in the Swiss canton of Thurgau, Hoepli began his career at 14 as an apprentice at the Schabelitz bookstore in Zurich. He later moved to Germany, then to Poland, and eventually to Trieste.

In 1870, Hoepli purchased a small bookstore in Milan, near the Duomo, and moved to the city. His bookstore quickly became a cultural hub for Milan's educated bourgeoisie, offering rare antique books and scientific and technical texts in multiple European languages.

In 1934, Hoepli also published Writings and Speeches by Benito Mussolini. Additionally, the publishing house produced prestigious works, such as a reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Atlanticus and the monumental History of Italian Art.

Philanthropy

In 1911 in Switzerland, he established the Ulrico Hoepli Foundation, dedicated to supporting public initiatives that promote science and the arts.

Hoepli was also a philanthropist. In 1921 he founded the Ulrico Hoepli Popular Library, and in 1930 he commissioned the construction of the Milan Planetarium, which now bears his name.

Death and legacy

Hoepli died in Milan after sixty-four years of publishing activity. In 1958, the bookstore, then managed by his nephew Carlo, relocated to Via Hoepli, the street posthumously named in his honor.

An asteroid, 8111 Hoepli, was named after him.