Add These 5 Books To Your Venice Stack
FORBIDDEN LOVE, SAILING EXPEDITIONS, LOST ROSES, AND AMAZING WOMEN - these page-turners reveal a side of Venice that’s often left untold.
Hello readers. I’m excited to officially kick off the Slow Venice series with a list of books - because we all need more books at Christmas.
Whenever I'm asked about the best way to approach a trip to Venice, my response is always the same: start by reading about it.
Culture is the key that empowers us to not only appreciate and respect a “destination” but also, when necessary, to step back and care for it in order to preserve it for both the near and distant future.
Thank you for reading and Happy Holidays 🎄
Sinù xx
Much has been written about Venice, and much more will be written in the centuries to come. Yet I believe there’s something noteworthy in those creations that are born from the direct accounts of those who’ve lived here. Even more so, when the one to write about them is himself a piece of living history of la Serenissima.
Andrea di Robilant is a descendant of the Mocenigos, one of Venice's oldest and most powerful patrician families. He's also an Italian-American journalist who's produced some gripping non-fiction books about Venice that are essential reading for anyone passionate about the island-city.
Drawing from century-old stacks of private correspondence (some of which were found in the attics of the Mocenigo’s former palazzo) and relying on thorough—and at times adventurous!—research, Robilant provides an intimate look into the lives of his ancestors and some truly remarkable Venetians, showing a side of Venice that’s little known: the thoughts, past times, troubles and habits of her inhabitants.
Page after page, book after book, Robilant brings you into the most beautiful Venetian palaces and country estates. On gondola rides in dark nights. On hunting sprees on the lagoon. And then up north through the coldest seas, across the Alps, the Channel and the oceans, and into the most enchanting rose gardens of Europe.
Among the many intruiguing characters showing up on the page, women; like Giustiniana Wynne, a bright and beautiful Anglo-Venetian of illegitimate birth. Or dame Lucia Mocenigo, the author’s deeply curious and resilient great-great-great-great grandmother who rolled up her sleeves after her husband’s premature death, and inspired a botanical quest to identify the mysterious origins of a pink rose only recently found on the grounds of her long abandoned Villa.
Worth noting: These books are widely available in both Italian and English. They make perfect reads for a cozy deep winter evening or excellent last-minute Christmas gifts. I like that Venice's mainland, or terraferma1, often serves as a backdrop for the protagonists’ adventures and everyday lives, beyind the classic canals.
I hope you’ll enjoy discovering Venice through her inhabitants' eyes as much as I do.
A Venetian Affair
Noble Andrea Memmo and lowly Giustiniana Wynne (later to become an affirmed writer) persevere in a forbidden love story spanning decades. Initially set in Venice, then moving to Paris and London, their relationship is vividly told through stacks of recovered letters. Secrets, casinos, and summer villas plus an interesting cameo from Casanova himself.Lucia
Lucia, the daughter of Andrea Memmo and the great-great-great-great-grandmother of the author, is a noblewoman who marries into the influential Mocenigo family. She leads a life of obedience to her diplomat husband, but after becoming a young widow, her character blossoms with resilience and courage. A beautiful portrait of a Venetian lady in the age of Napoleon. (Trivia: Lucia was Lord Byron’s landlady in Venice!).Chasing the Rose
The author embarks on a quest to uncover the origins of a mysterious pale pink rose hidden in a crumbling estate once belonging to his family. I never thought that a book about roses could be so gripping!Irresistible North
From Venice to Greenland on the Trail of the Zen Brothers - follow the journey of two blue-blooded Venetian sailors through the deep northern seas. Did they really reach as far as the Americas?Autumn in Venice
Hemingway’s last muse was in fact a woman from Venice! In the Autumn of 1947, Hemingway was a middle-aged married man, and Ivana was barely 19. Their scandalous flirtation caused a stir in Venice for years. Let’s be honest, Hemingway was a bit of a macho-bore, but this book is indeed exceptional.
What will you be reading these Holidays? Are you familiar with Robilant’s work? Feel free to share your favorite Venice reads in the comments below 📚
“Terraferma” is what modern Venetians call the immediate mainland of Venice. In the past, under the Venetian Empire, the term referred to all the mainland dominions in the Veneto region and Northern Italy.
Thank you Sinù! I love reading about the places I have visited and also want to visit again! I’ve just tracked down three of them and can’t wait for them to arrive! Fantastic!
Buon Natale, Sinù!