Publisher's Synopsis
Venice: The Enlightened Traveler's Historical Guide prepares the way for an in-depth understanding of Venice and stimulates an interest in its remarkable past and problematic future. This heavily illustrated book sets the stage and mood of contemporary Venice, laying out its topographical and salient characteristics, and then proceeds to interpret its major treasures and contributions in relation to its historical background.Venice: The Enlightened Traveler's Historical Guide is a composite or blend? part history part descriptive explanation and commentary, part guide?that synthesizes the vital aspects of the city, recounted and interpreted chronologically within the context of historical narrative. In sum, it is an insightful account of one of the world's most unique cities, employing strict selectivity of the political, economic, military and social strands of Venice's long and fascinating evolution! This perspective in turn forms a framework for generalized comment on the city's contributions to art and architecture, to music and pageantry, to finance and trade, to morals and politics.Part I summarizes Venice's historical progression and the forces at work that shaped itPart II (which constitutes three-quarters of the book) is a chronological account, broken into seven sub-chapters based on clearly recognizable time periods.
