Venice

VENICE is another in the Timeless Places series written by Alexandra Bonfante-Warren and again she has produced a book that makes us feel as though we are observing her city from the gently rocking gondola, from amid the pigeons in St Mark's Square, and from private tours to the glass-blowing houses deep in the city of canals. Part 1 (Storia) begins with a healthy if succinct history of the sinking city, proceeds through sections entitled 'Il Dogado', 'La Dominante', and 'The Splendid Decline', all preparing us for Part 2 which is images of the city that by rights should not even exist, so anchored to the lagoons and pilings that the sea penetrates regularly. But before the further sinking of the city she introduces through pictures the uniqueness that is Venice. Even for visitors who know the city well, for readers who cling to every novel (and they are legion!) about, set in, or referencing Venice, here is Venice as splendidly protrayed as any travel book. A must for those captivated by the city that knows no time.