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.

A penetrating work of reportage on Venice. "Searching observations and astonishing comprehension of the Venetian taste and character" (New York Herald Tribune).

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.

Publisher Description

In the tradition of Jane Jacobs’ The Death and Life of Great American Cities comes an urgent plea from internationally renowned art historian Salvatore Settis to preserve Venice’s future. What is Venice worth? To whom does this urban treasure belong? Venetians are increasingly abandoning their hometown — there’s now only one resident for every 140 visitors — and Venice’s fragile fate has become emblematic of the future of historic cities everywhere as it capitulates to tourists and those who profit from them. In If Venice Dies, a fiery blend of history and cultural analysis, internationally renowned art historian Savatore Settis argues that “hit-and-run” visitors are turning landmark urban settings into shopping malls and theme parks. He warns that Western civilization’s prime achievements face impending ruin from mass tourism and global cultural homogenization. This is a passionate plea to secure Venice’s future, written with consummate authority, wide-ranging erudition, and élan.

"The city of Venice has always provided an almost irresistible lure for both writers and artists. Henry James loved it, as did Ruskin, Browning, Pound, and Brodsky. For artists, it has been a compulsory magnet since the time of Bellini and Canaletto. By the nineteenth century there was hardly an artist of note -- Whistler and Turner, Sargent and Prendergast, Sickert and Bonington -- who was not seduced by the city's charms, history, and aesthetic heritage. For the depiction of Venice by artists, it's a high bar that s been set, but Adam Van Doren, grandson of the Pulitzer-prize-winning poet Mark Van Doren, convincingly confronts the competition in this charming memoir, a verbal and visual account of his love affair with the city. His story is personal; like all other artists, he sees the city with and through his own eyes, but he is also well-informed historically. He laces his tour with information, opinion, and citation. With Van Doren as guide, the reader's tour of the city is rich and convincing, filled with the presence of illustrious predecessors. With an informed preface by the scholar Theodore Rabb and a charming foreword by Simon Winchester, with 21 full-color drawings by the author/artist, and even six pages of commendably lucid "Notes" on the personalities and structures discussed, this is a book that will proudly take its place alongside the many others that have celebrated this city for centuries."--Publisher description.

A collection of “entertaining . . . unapologetically opinionated” essays from the New York Times–bestselling author of the Commissario Guido Brunetti novels (The New York Times). Donna Leon has won legions of fans and waves of critical acclaim for her international bestselling mystery series featuring Venetian Commissario Guido Brunetti—not only for her intricate plots and gripping narratives, but for her insight into the culture, politics, family-life, and history of Venice. But outside of her mystery novels, Leon has also been writing essays on Venetian life and related topics for years. In My Venice and Other Essays, the best of these essays are collected: more than fifty charming and insightful works ranging in topic from battles over garbage in the canals to the troubles with rehabbing Venetian real estate. Leon shares episodes from her life, explores her love of opera, and recounts tales from in and around her country house in the mountains. With pointed observations and humor, she also explores her family history, her former life in New Jersey, and the idea of the “Italian man.” Sure to please longtime Leon fans as well as anyone who appreciates the wit and wisdom of a master wordsmith, this volume offers “an intriguing glimpse at the strong views of an exceptionally interesting and entertaining novelist” (The Seattle Times).