Venice Observed

Venice Observed
Author: Mary McCarthy
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 162
Release: 2013-10-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1480441236

The #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The Group takes readers on a captivating journey to one of the world’s most celebrated cities. Mary McCarthy brings her novelist’s unerring eye to a book that blends art, politics, religion, music, and history to create a living portrait of “the world’s loveliest city.” Like a painter capturing the city’s essence on canvas, McCarthy uses words to create stunning visuals that bring both the old and new Venice to enchanting life. From her apartment overlooking the garden of a palazzo, McCarthy takes us into the museums and monasteries of this city of canals and gondolas, Machiavelli and Tintoretto. And she reveals some little-known facts: Venetians love pets, but prefer cats to dogs; during World War II, the Allies captured the city with a fleet of gondolas; and without Napoleon, Venice wouldn’t be what it is today. From the ancient roots of The Merchant of Venice’s pound of flesh to the quotidian details of daily life, it’s all here—the magnificent frescoes, the sublime music of Mozart, the virgins, and the saints. At once a comprehensive travelogue and a powerful piece of reportage, Venice Observed is a testimony of McCarthy’s love affair with the City of Canals. This ebook features superb color reproductions of the works of Giorgione, Veronese, Titian, Canaletto, Guardo, Bellini, and Tiepolo, and an illustrated biography of Mary McCarthy including rare images from the author’s estate.

Venice in Environmental Peril?

Venice in Environmental Peril?
Author: Dominic Standish
Publisher: University Press of America
Total Pages: 333
Release: 2012
Genre: History
ISBN: 0761856641

Venice and its environment are perceived to be in peril due to rising sea levels, tourism, and modern development. Are these threats myths or reality? This book explores Venice's environmental risks based on interviews with Venetian environmental campaigners and draws on the mythology of the Venetian Republic. Campaigners' opinions about the mobile dams nearing completion to protect the city reveal that Venice now represents an environmentally-threatened retreat from modernity. This reputation has been established as sustainable development and climate change policies have risen to the top of political agendas in many cities and countries. The book investigates how environmentalism has been transformed from a theory underpinning counter-cultural movements to part of a dominant holistic culture in Western societies. Rather than constraining Venice in search of a mythical harmony with nature, this book offers a ten-point proposal to modernize the city while preserving its ancient heritage.

The Stones of Florence

The Stones of Florence
Author: Mary McCarthy
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2013-10-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1480441244

A journey through the glorious Italian city’s scenery, history, and culture, from the New York Times–bestselling author of Venice Observed and The Group. Mary McCarthy’s classic celebrates the Italian city often looked upon as the provincial sister to the better-dressed, more “feminine” Venice. To McCarthy, Florence, or Firenze, is a place of ageless enchantment, from the Duomo to the fortressed palaces. The Renaissance began here; art and architecture flourished. From its roots as a center of medieval trade to its transformation into one of the world’s wealthiest cities, McCarthy charts Florence’s rich and turbulent history. She introduces a cast of towering real-life characters. Through her probing writer’s lens, the poetry of Dante and the magnificent artistry of Raphael and Botticelli come vibrantly alive. Along this illuminating journey, McCarthy offers fascinating bits of trivia: There are no ruins in Florence because the Florentines aren’t sentimental about their past; America took its name from a Florentine traveler named Amerigo Vespucci. From Michelangelo to the Medicis to the story behind a statue’s missing head, The Stones of Florence is Mary McCarthy’s hymn to this unique city. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Mary McCarthy including rare images from the author’s estate.

Venice, the Tourist Maze

Venice, the Tourist Maze
Author: Robert C. Davis
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 374
Release: 2004-06-25
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0520241207

Publisher Description

A Literary Companion To Venice

A Literary Companion To Venice
Author: Ian Littlewood
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 288
Release: 1995-05-15
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 9780312131135

Arranged in the form of seven detailed walking tours through Venice, this literary companion provides an illuminating guide to the streets, palaces, churches, and canals that make up this exquisite city. Illustrations.

Venice

Venice
Author: Margaret Plant
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 576
Release: 2002-01-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780300083866

Margaret Plant presents a wide-ranging cultural history of the city from the fall of the Republic in 1797, until 1997, showing how it has changed and adapted and how perceptions of it have shaped its reality.

Rick Steves Venice

Rick Steves Venice
Author: Rick Steves
Publisher: Rick Steves
Total Pages: 674
Release: 2019-11-12
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 1641711833

Glide along the canals and meander down the cobblestone alleys as you soak up the art, history, and culture of Venice with Rick Steves by your side. Inside Rick Steves Venice you'll find: Comprehensive coverage for spending a week or more exploring Venice Rick's strategic advice on how to get the most out of your time and money, with rankings of his must-see favorites Top sights and hidden gems, from St. Mark's Basilica and the Rialto Bridge to the charming city of Padua How to connect with local culture: Say "buongiorno" to the fish mongers at the morning market, snack on chicchetti at a local wine bar, and people-watch on a sunny piazza Beat the crowds, skip the lines, and avoid tourist traps with Rick's candid, humorous insight The best places to eat, sleep, and relax with a scoop of gelato Self-guided walking tours of lively neighborhoods and museums, plus a Grand Canal Cruise tour Detailed neighborhood maps and a fold-out city map for exploring on the go Useful resources including a packing list, an Italian phrase book, a historical overview, and recommended reading Over 400 bible-thin pages include everything worth seeing without weighing you down Complete, up-to-date information on the San Marco District, Santa Croce, Cannaregio, and more, with side trips to Padua, Vicenza, Verona, and Ravenna Make the most of every day and every dollar with Rick Steves Venice. Spending less than a week in the city? Check out Rick Steves Pocket Venice!

Insight Guides City Guide Venice (Travel Guide eBook)

Insight Guides City Guide Venice (Travel Guide eBook)
Author: Insight Guides
Publisher: Apa Publications (UK) Limited
Total Pages: 455
Release: 2016-11-01
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 1786716704

Venice is one of the world's most magical and unique destinations, a city where life is lived on the water and getting lost is all part of the fun. Inside Insight City Guide Venice: A fully-overhauled edition by our expert Venice author. Stunning photography that brings this breathtaking city and its people to life. Highlights of the city's top attractions, from the frenzy of Piazza San Marco to the picturesque backstreets and canals less trodden by mass tourism. Descriptive area-by-area accounts cover the whole city from the the church-heavy Zattere district to the backwaters of Dorsoduro. A comprehensive Travel Tips section includes all the practical information you will need for your trip, including getting around on the canals and cultural activities. Detailed, high-quality maps throughout will help you get around and travel tips give you all the essential information for planning a memorable trip. About Insight Guides: Insight Guides has over 40 years' experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce around 400 full-colour print guide books and maps as well as picture-packed eBooks to meet different travellers' needs. Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus on history and culture together create a unique visual reference and planning tool to inspire your next adventure. 'Insight Guides has spawned many imitators but is still the best of its type.' - Wanderlust Magazine

Green Worlds of Renaissance Venice

Green Worlds of Renaissance Venice
Author: Jodi Cranston
Publisher: Penn State Press
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2020-05-05
Genre: Art
ISBN: 0271084014

From celebrated gardens in private villas to the paintings and sculptures that adorned palace interiors, Venetians in the sixteenth century conceived of their marine city as dotted with actual and imaginary green spaces. This volume examines how and why this pastoral vision of Venice developed. Drawing on a variety of primary sources ranging from visual art to literary texts, performances, and urban plans, Jodi Cranston shows how Venetians lived the pastoral in urban Venice. She describes how they created green spaces and enacted pastoral situations through poetic conversations and theatrical performances in lagoon gardens; discusses the island utopias found, invented, and mapped in distant seas; and explores the visual art that facilitated the experience of inhabiting verdant landscapes. Though the greening of Venice was relatively short lived, Cranston shows how the phenomenon had a lasting impact on how other cities, including Paris and London, developed their self-images and how later writers and artists understood and adapted the pastoral mode. Incorporating approaches from eco-criticism and anthropology, Green Worlds of Renaissance Venice greatly informs our understanding of the origins and development of the pastoral in art history and literature as well as the culture of sixteenth-century Venice. It will appeal to scholars and enthusiasts of sixteenth-century history and culture, the history of urban landscapes, and Italian art.

The Rough Guide to Venice & the Veneto

The Rough Guide to Venice & the Veneto
Author: Jonathan Buckley
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 497
Release: 2013-01-24
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 1409366502

The Rough Guide to Venice & the Veneto, long established as the most thorough and reliable guide to the city and its surroundings, has been completely redesigned and updated for this ninth edition. Unrivaled in its coverage of the Doge's Palace, the Basilica di San Marco and all the other major sights, the Rough Guide also reveals the treasures to be found in the districts that lie off the usual tourist trails - and has plenty of maps to make sure you find them easily. As well as being packed with stories that illuminate the city's history, the Rough Guide tells you more about the city as it is today than any other guidebook, with features on everything from flood-prevention projects to the travails of Venice's football team. It will tell you the best places to stay, eat and drink, in all price ranges, from backwater bars to gourmet restaurants, from homely B&Bs to spectacular Grand Canal hotels. Make the most of your time with The Rough Guide to Venice & the Veneto. Now available in ePub format.