'Every year, hundreds of books on the city are published, but none resembles this one' - Independent 'This gem of a book offers practical advice but in a distinctly lyrical tone. If you are lucky enough to be going there, take Venice is a Fish and you will want for nothing' - Sunday Telegraph Built on an inverted forest, paved with a tortoiseshell of boulders, Venice is a maze of tiny alleys, bridges and squares. Tiziano Scarpa wanders through the city, recounting the customs and secrets that only Venetians know. With everything from practical advice for aspiring Venetian lovers to hints at where to find the best bacaro, Scarpa waves the tourist in the right direction and, without naming a single restaurant, hotel or bar, relates the secret language needed to experience the real Venice. So ignore the street signs - why fight the labyrinth? Venice, the fish, is ready to swallow you whole.

One of Italy’s brightest literary lights reinvents travel writing with a seductive, intoxicating celebration of the magical saltwater city “Venice is a fish,” writes Tiziano Scarpa. “It’s like a vast sole stretched out against the deep. How did this marvelous beast make its way up the Adriatic and fetch up here, of all places?” Paying homage to his native city in a lyrical and evocative style, he guides readers down tiny alleys, over bridges, and through squares, daring us to lose ourselves, forget the guidebooks, and experience Venice as Venetians do. Venice Is a Fish provides no hotel ratings or museum hours. Instead, in a delightful initiation, Scarpa tells us how to balance while standing on a gondola; where lovers will find the best secret hiding places; the finer points of etiquette and navigation during an agua alta; and how best to defend ourselves from the pitiless beauty of one of the world’s most stimulating cities. Open Venice Is a Fish, and Scarpa’s magnificent images, secret history, and hidden lore unfold like a treasure map of the senses.

“The rise and fall of Venice’s empire is an irresistible story and [Roger] Crowley, with his rousing descriptive gifts and scholarly attention to detail, is its perfect chronicler.”—The Financial Times The New York Times bestselling author of Empires of the Sea charts Venice’s astounding five-hundred-year voyage to the pinnacle of power in an epic story that stands unrivaled for drama, intrigue, and sheer opulent majesty. City of Fortune traces the full arc of the Venetian imperial saga, from the ill-fated Fourth Crusade, which culminates in the sacking of Constantinople in 1204, to the Ottoman-Venetian War of 1499–1503, which sees the Ottoman Turks supplant the Venetians as the preeminent naval power in the Mediterranean. In between are three centuries of Venetian maritime dominance, during which a tiny city of “lagoon dwellers” grow into the richest place on earth. Drawing on firsthand accounts of pitched sea battles, skillful negotiations, and diplomatic maneuvers, Crowley paints a vivid picture of this avaricious, enterprising people and the bountiful lands that came under their dominion. From the opening of the spice routes to the clash between Christianity and Islam, Venice played a leading role in the defining conflicts of its time—the reverberations of which are still being felt today. “[Crowley] writes with a racy briskness that lifts sea battles and sieges off the page.”—The New York Times “Crowley chronicles the peak of Venice’s past glory with Wordsworthian sympathy, supplemented by impressive learning and infectious enthusiasm.”—The Wall Street Journal

Francesco da Mosto follows his bestselling books on Venice and Italy with his personal quest for the authentic flavours and food of Venice. In this superbly illustrated book Francesco invites us into his family's kitchen in his 16th-century Palazzo in the heart of the city where he acts as the perfect guide to the unique culinary character of traditional Venetian cooking. Francesco shows us how to prepare 150 classic Venetian recipes ranging from Antipasti, sauces, soups and fish, to meats, pasta and puddings. He demonstrates how Venetian food is a fabulous fusion of ingredients brought together over centuries as merchants and traders travelled the Mediterranean. The ancient broeto (stock) and mollusc soups testify to this, as does the richness and variety of dishes based on fish, roasts, grills, tasty deep fried delicacies and sauces. Each chapter is introduced with the history and origins of the recipes and throughout there are personal reminiscences by Francesco of his first encounters with his favourite dishes. As Francesco is keen to tell, his passion for cooking authentic Venetian food comes from home: 'When I start talking about cooking, it is impossible to forget my father, his love and imagination for all things culinary. He has never feared unusual combinations of ingredients and seasonings, and I have always been a willing guinea pig.'

Cenzo is a world-weary fisherman, determined to sit out the rest of the war. He's happy to stay out of the way of the SS, quietly going about his business of fishing in the lagoons of northern Italy. Then one night, instead of pulling in his usual haul, Cenzo fishes a young woman out of the canal. Guilia is an Italian Jew who has managed to escape capture and is determined to find her family. This meeting results in them both taking an entirely unexpected journey, and Cenzo suddenly finds himself thrown headlong into the world of international wartime politics, where everyone has their own agenda and nowhere is safe ...

"For as long as Jake Tilson can remember he has always been scared of fish. Mysterious ice-laden market stalls have been sidestepped and intimidating seafood recipes left safely on the shelf, while the few occasions he has attempted to cook it have met with disaster. In at the Deep End sees the award-winning artist, designer, writer and cook finally overcome his last culinary taboo by travelling the globe on a quest to buy, prepare and cook fish and seafood. An evocative, marvellously layered and wonderfully illustrated exploration of Jake's many experiences with fish, this delightful food memoir and recipe book catalogues his journey from fish-phobic to seafood obsessive. Whether cooking mussels in Sydney or sprats in Sweden, visiting the fish markets of Tokyo or snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef, Jake's unquenchable interest in every aspect of the sea and fish cookery is unstoppable. His acute eye and enticing culinary experiments and recipes make In at the Deep End a book to be read, savoured, used and, above all, enjoyed."--Publisher's description.

This is the story of ordinary life in an extraordinary place. The beautiful city of Venice has been a fantasy land for people from around the globe for centuries, but what is it like to live there? This title is a fascinating window into the world of ordinary Venetians and the strange and unique place they call home.