![]() ![]() Much of the book resembles material from Hello! magazine: who attended what party in what palace etc. These are subjects that are undoubtedly interesting, at least to some, but are remote to the lives of ordinary Venetians. Thus, for example, much space is given over to the machinations surrounding the papers of Ezra Pound, and the intrigues and squabbles within the rich patrons of the Save Venice movement. ![]() Venetians do appear, but they are either a few eccentric characters, or the elite of the city, and they are outnumbered by foreigners, mainly expatriate American, again of a certain class. These accounts do partly conform to the author's stated aim: to write a book not primarily about the art and architecture of Venice, but instead to tell the story of its inhabitants. Both stories tell you much about what is wrong with Venice. This books starts well with excellent eyewitness descriptions of the fire that destroyed the famous Fenice opera house in January 1996, and this is followed up later by accounts of the long drawn-out investigation of the causes of the fire, with its oscillating conclusions, and the labyrinthine bureaucracy that surrounded reconstruction, and which contributed to long delay of seven years before the opera house was reopened. ![]()
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