The World of Venice
by Jan Morris
Morris displays her talent for research, telling anecdote and well-wrought prose in this spirited portrait of a beloved city, its history and inhabitants. If you are going to read one book on Venice, we recommend this favorite.
Venice Is a Fish
by Tiziano Scarpa
The hugely popular Venetian novelist, poet and playwright makes his English-language debut with these marvelously digressive essays on the many moods and pleasures of La Serenissima.
Death at La Fenice
by Donna Leon
The first of the tremendously good Guido Brunetti mysteries, all set in the author's beloved Venice, in which a famous conductor is found dead at the celebrated La Fenice theater.
Venice, A New History
by Thomas F. Madden
With authority, Madden tackles the history of the celebrated city from Roman times onward.
Eyewitness Guide Venice & the Veneto
by Eyewitness Guides
Features color photography, dozens of excellent maps (including a pullout map) and a synopsis of the region's attractions.
The Genius of Venice, Piazza San Marco and the Making of the Republic
by Dial Parrott
With 112 color illustrations and four maps, the Genius of Venice presents the magnificent buildings of the celebrated piazza as, in the words of John Ruskin, the "living books of history" in this handsome cultural history.
Piazza San Marco
by Iain Fenlon
Fenlon reveals the dynamic, colorful and noisy history of this grand square at the heart of Venetian civic life in this sophisticated pocket guide.
Art and Life in Renaissance Venice
by Patricia Brown
This compact volume evokes the spirit of Renaissance Venice with authoritative essays and 120 full-color illustrations.
Venice from the Ground Up
by James H. S. McGregor
A walking tour, history and celebration, this masterly, personal guide to Venice includes a short account of McGregor's favorite sites, 10 maps and suggested walks (and boat rides).
Venice Map
by Berndtson & Berndtson
A colorful, detailed city map of Venice, perfect for finding your way around the famously labyrinthine streets and canals.
My Venice and Other Essays
by Donna Leon
A collection of 50 of Leon's funny, charming, passionate and insightful essays, ranging from battles over garbage in the canals to the troubles with restoring Venetian real estate.
Venice 697-1797: A City, a Republic, an Empire
by Aluise Zorzi
Zorzi reveals the growth of Venice from a small fishing village to a bustling metropolis whose cultural, political and economic dominance extended over the entire Mediterranean world with this sumptuous collection of 340 color paintings, photographs and drawings.
Venice, A Literary Guide for Travellers
by Marie-jose Gransard
From local authors to classic writers like Dickens, Byron, Kafka, Poe, Rousseau, Thomas Mann, John Ruskin and Ezra Pound, this literary survey reveals Venice's multifaceted personality through literature.
In the Company of the Courtesan
by Sarah Dunant
Dunant paints a vivid, earthy portrait of Renaissance Venice in this absorbing novel of intrigue, ambition and love -- cleverly narrated by the wily dwarf Bucino Teodoldo, loyal companion of the courtesan.
Lonely Planet Italian Phrasebook
by Lonely Planet
A handy, palm-size guide to pronunciation, basic grammar and essential vocabulary for the traveler.
Watermark
by Joseph Brodsky
A metaphysical, metaphorical meditation on Venice by poet Joseph Brodsky. His ruminations take the form of 48 short chapters, each prompted by an idea, memory or scene associated with his much loved city.