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You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on
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The Italians
by John Hooper
From Amazon: A vivid and surprising portrait of the Italian people from an admired foreign correspondent.
Venice: The Biography of a City
by Christopher Hibbert
Synopsis from Amazon.com: "This novel guidebook to the famous Italian city combines a personal narrative with historical and social information, and includes a comprehensive gazeteer of every building mentioned in the text and every monument and work of art of importance in Venice. Christopher Hibbert is the author of many works of history and biography, including "The Rise and Fall of the House of Medici" and guidebooks to Florence and Rome."
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.
The World of Venice
by Jan Morris
From Barnes and Noble website: "A fascinating exploration of the history, sights, seasons, arts, food, and people of an incomparable city. “A highly intelligent portrait of an eccentric city, written in powerful prose and enlivened by many curious mosaics of information...a beautiful book to read and to possess” (The Observer)."
The Perfect House, A Journey with Renaissance Master Andrea Palladio
by Witold Rybczynski
A professor of urban studies and popular author, Rybczynski is an enlightening guide to Palladio and his influence in Italy and abroad.
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.
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).
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 City of Falling Angels
by John Berendt
from Barnes and Noble website: "The author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil returns after more than a decade to give us an intimate look at the "magic, mystery, and decadence" of the city of Venice and its inhabitants."