Venice (City-Pick Series)

Venice, of all the world’s great cities, is said to be the one most present in the popular imagination: even those who have never been there feel they already have. As the most photographed and filmed city for the purposes of advertising, our apparent familiarity with the city isn’t surprising. Add to this flms such as Death in Venice, Don’t Look Now and The Wings of the Dove and the fctions they were based on, and it isn’t surprising that Venice already exists in our heads. The paintings of Canaletto, the music of Vivaldi and Albinoni, and Shakespeare’sA Merchant of Venice also create the prism through which we view the city from the moment it comes into view on our frst unforgettable visit – unforgettable because Venice turns out to be much more than its familiar representation.