Peter Ackroyd's Venice

To the average tourist who discovers 'La Serenissima' on a brief city break through a whirl of gondolas, snaking queues and souvenir carnival masks, the city is anything but serene. But they are all there for the same reason: Venice, long billed as one of the world’s most beautiful cities, has captured the hearts and minds of artists, musicians, writers and thinkers ever since the first invasions by the Lombards. And every day, a fresh invasion occurs... But beneath the gleaming facade and tourist-thronged squares, Venice is a city of quiet corners, deserted squares, dark alleys and unexpected treasures. And who better to root them out and show them off in the light of their cultural, historical and artistic history than Peter Ackroyd? The prize-winning historian, journalist, novelist, broadcaster, and Fellow of both the Royal Academy and the Royal Society of Literature has recently completed his own biography of Venice. Follow him through the history and geography of ‘The Queen of the Adriatic’, exploring the city's architecture, art, music and theatre.

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