From Publishers Weekly
If any city could fit happily into the pages of a picture book,it's Venice: small, old, beautiful, palpably mortal. Venice'smelancholy splendor lies both in its physical longevity and in itsdecline, in the vital signs of an ever-more-distant past. Zorzi, aVenetian involved in the preservation of his hometown, and Marton (Venetian Villas ) do the place justice in their illustrated survey ofpalazzi from the Doge's Palace (circa 810) to innumerable smallerresidences of Byzantine, Gothic, Renaissance and later eras. Stonepredominates in their view of the landscape, whether that of theelaborate interior mosaic floors of dwellings, in the Bridge of Sighs,or in the unadorned walls of a Venetian prison. Marton's photos ofexteriors are striking; artful urban bedrock seems to let theclustered islands of the onetime trading center rest with surrealserenity on water. In this vision of a city as an artifact, few peoplecan be seen, suggesting the power of the dead on all that has managedto survive them.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
This handsome volume opens with an account of the building of Venetian palaces and a brief outline of the republic's history, followed by a short historical outline of Venetian heraldry. Every palace of note in Venice is then discussed separately in historical sequence, according to the date each was built. Each is examined as part of the architecture of its era, with its particular design and unique elements carefully described. The artistic embellishments, furnishings, paintings, and decorations are also presented, as are the historical personages who occupied it and the events of note that took place there. The exterior and interior of each building are shown in a series of excellent photographs. The volume is beautifully produced, with illustrations of the highest quality. Useful for the general reader and specialist, it is a fine addition to any library, providing a complete roster of Venetian palaces. --Martin Chasin, Adult Inst . , Bridgeport, Ct.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
