Venetian Gardens

Book Description

Tucked away in the heart of Venice, hidden from the public eye, lie unexpected oases of calm and beauty. Venetian Gardens offers an exclusive view of the splendor and charm of these secret gardens, undiscovered by the vast majority of visitors to the magical city known as la Serenissima. Whether strolling through the narrow streets or riding on a gondola, most passers-by would miss the rows of trees running alongside ancient city walls, massive climbing vines, flower-covered terraces, and the luxurious gardens of grand palaces. Professional tour guide Mariagrazia Dammicco unlocks Venice's garden gates, allowing us access to hidden oases usually closed to the general public. This book invites the reader to explore twenty of Venice's secret gardens, ranging from private family havens to convent sanctuaries, and including all styles and shapes, contemporary and medieval alike. Marianne Majerus's splendid photography and Dammicco's informative text give the reader a peek behind the closed doors of exclusive residences and quiet convents. This lavish volume is sure to inspire gardeners and lovers of Venice with its spotlight on the unusual and stunning floral combinations that are proven winners in the featured gardens.

Customer Reviews:

Gorgeous!.......2007-10-01

I'm a huge fan of all things Venetian - art, architecture, gardens & more. Having been to Venice, there are many parts of it that are private or hidden and you'd never find them. This book shows you the most beautiful private gardens overlooking waterways and internal streets that no tourist would ever see or find. I have it sitting on top of my many stacks of coffee table books and each time I walk by and see the cover I want to sit down and look through it again.

Wonderful behind the scenes look.......2007-05-13

This is by far and away the best of books that looks at private Venetian gardens. It covers 27 gardens both historic and contemporary - almost all of them in private hands. Originally published in French, the translation has only a few flaws and is well written with a good deal of both historic and current information. The photographs are really lush and beautiful and the entire publication is beautifully designed and finished. I highly recomend it for lovers of Venice as well as anyone who loves gardening.

Average customer rating:

Secret Gardens Of Venice
Cristiana Moldi-Ravenna , and Tudy Sammartini
Manufacturer: Arsenale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The City of Falling Angels

ASIN: 8877431695

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A Garden in Venice
Frederic Eden
Manufacturer: Frances Lincoln
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0711222053

Book Description

The garden was clearly influential in starting Gertrude Jekyll's gardening career relatively late in her life.

I Giardini Veneziani (The Gardens of Venice)

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I Giardini Veneziani (The Gardens of Venice)
Mariagrazia Dammicco , Gabriella Bondi , and Letizia Querenghi
Manufacturer: Tamari Montagna
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 8880430807

Product Description

Guidebook to the gardens of Venice, lavishly illustrated with color photopgraphs, maps, drawings and diagrams. Text in Italian.

Average customer rating:

The City of Falling Angels
Life in the City of Venice
Only 'ok'.
Immensely enjoyable, but not up to Midnight in the Garden standards...
Gave up after 103 pages

The City of Falling Angels
John Berendt
Manufacturer: audible.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Download
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ASIN: B000BKSG1E

Amazon.com

Past Midnight: John Berendt on the Mysteries of Venice

Just as John Berendt's first book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, was settling into its remarkable four-year run on The New York Times bestseller list, he discovered a new city whose local mysteries and traditions were more than a match for Savannah, whose hothouse eccentricities he had celebrated in the first book. The new city was Venice, and he spent much of the last decade wandering through its canals and palazzos, seeking to understand a place that any native will tell you is easy to visit but hard to know. For travelers to Venice, whether by armchair or vaporetto, he has selected his 10 (actually 11) Books to Read on Venice. And he took the time to answer a few of our questions about his charming new book, The City of Falling Angels:

Amazon.com: The lush, cloistered southern city of Savannah was the locale of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Venice, the setting for The City of Falling Angels, is vastly different. Was it the difference itself that drew you to Venice?

John Berendt: Savannah and Venice actually have quite a lot in common. Both are uniquely beautiful. Both are isolated geographically, culturally, and emotionally from the world outside. Venice sits in the middle of a lagoon; Savannah is surrounded by marshes, piney woods, and the ocean. Venetians think of themselves as Venetian first, Italian second; Savannahians rarely even venture forth as far as Atlanta or Charleston. So both cities offer a writer a rich context in which to set a story, and the stories provide readers a means of escape from their own environment into another world.

Amazon.com: I enjoyed your rather declarative author's note: that this is a work of nonfiction, and that you used everyone's real names. In your previous book you did use pseudonyms for some characters and you explained that you took a few small liberties in the service of the larger truth of the story. Why the change this time?

Berendt: When I wrote Midnight I thought I would do a few people the favor of changing their names for the sake of privacy. But when the book came out, several of the pseudonymous characters told me they wished I'd used their real names instead. So this time, no pseudonyms. As for the storytelling liberties I took in writing Midnight, they were minor and did not change the story, but my mention of it in the author's note caused some confusion, with the result that Midnight is sometimes referred to now as a novel, which it most certainly is not. Neither is The City of Falling Angels. In fact, I dispensed with the liberties this time and made it as close to the truth as I could get it.

Amazon.com: In The City of Falling Angels, a number of fascinating people serve as guides to the city, each with a different idea of the true nature of Venice. Who was your favorite?

Berendt: I don't have a favorite, but Count Girolamo Marcello is certainly a memorable, highly quotable commentator. "Everyone in Venice is acting," he told me. "Everyone plays a role, and the role changes. The key to understanding Venetians is rhythm, the rhythm of the lagoon, the water, the tides, the waves. It's like breathing. High water, high pressure: tense. Low water, low pressure: relaxed. The tide changes every six hours."

I nodded that I understood.

"How do you see a bridge?" he went on.

"Pardon me?" I asked, "A bridge?"

"Do you see a bridge as an obstacle--as just another set of steps to climb to get from one side of a canal to the other? We Venetians do not see bridges as obstacles. To us, bridges are transitions. We go over them very slowly. They are part of the rhythm. They are the links between two parts of a theater, like changes in scenery. Our role changes as we go over bridges. We cross from one reality ... to another reality. From one street ... to another street. From one setting ... to another setting."

Once I had absorbed that notion, Count Marcello continued: "Sunlight on a canal is reflected up through a window onto the ceiling, then from the ceiling onto a vase, and from the vase onto a glass. Which is the real sunlight? Which is the real reflection? What is true? What is not true? The answer is not so simple, because the truth can change. I can change. You can change. That is the Venice effect."

I was not terribly surprised when he later told me, "Venetians never tell the truth. We mean precisely the opposite of what we say."

Amazon.com: Now that you know Venice well enough to be a guide yourself, what would you say to a visitor looking for insight into the character of the city?

Berendt: Tourists generally shuffle along, on narrow streets so crowded as to be nearly impassable, between the major sights of St. Mark's Square, the Rialto Bridge, and the Accademia Museum. All you have to do is to step off these heavily traveled alleyways, and in a few moments you will find yourself in quiet, much emptier surroundings. This is more like the real Venice. Another thing to do is to go into the wine bars where Venetians stand around drinking and talking. They will very likely be speaking the Venetian dialect, so you won't be able to understand them, but you will get a sampling of the true Venetian ambiance enlivened by the pronounced sing-song rhythm of the language. I'd also suggest stopping someone in the street and asking for directions. Almost invariably, you will be rewarded with a genial smile and the instructions, Sempre diritto, meaning "Straight ahead." This will only leave you more confused, because when you attempt to follow a straight line, you will be confronted by more twists and turns and forks in the road than you thought possible, given the instructions. This is part of what Count Marcello described as "the Venice effect."

Book Description

The author of the record-breaking bestseller Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil unveils the enigmatic Venice as only he can

Twelve years ago, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil exploded into a monumental success, residing a record-breaking four years on the New York Times bestseller list (longer than any work of fiction or nonfiction had before) and turning John Berendt into a household name. The City of Falling Angels is Berendt's first book since Midnight, and it immediately reminds one what all the fuss was about. Turning to the magic, mystery, and decadence of Venice, Berendt gradually reveals the truth behind a sensational fire that in 1996 destroyed the historic Fenice opera house. Encountering a rich cast of characters, Berendt tells a tale full of atmosphere and surprise as the stories build, one after the other, ultimately coming together to portray a world as finely drawn as a still-life painting.

Customer Reviews:

The City of Falling Angels.......2007-10-08

This is a book I could not put down. I suggest this to anyone who is planning a trip to Italy (or not!)

Life in the City of Venice.......2007-10-03

In 1996, a fire started in the Fenice Opera House in Venice, Italy. And not just any fire. A fire that would consume not only most of the beautiful building, along with it paintings, frescoes and history in this last of it's kind building. No, this fire consumed almost a decade in the life of Venice. How did the fire start? Was it arson? Was it negligence? Who had the most to gain? Was it the Mafia or was it the contractors that were working on the remodeling? These are just some of the questions that drew John Berendt to extend his stay in Venice and try to capture the city and it's people in print.

In the course of the investigation, Berendt introduces us to many of the citizens of this city. We meet Archimede Seguso, a renowned glass maker, that watched the Fenice burn and then created over one hundred glass vases to memorialize it. Of course, most of these pieces still haven't been seen by the public because they are tied up in a litigation of a weird brotherly feud. We meet the Rylands - Jane, an American Expat and her British husband that waylaid a poor old lady and took her incredible achieves for their own profit. The woman was Olga Rudge, the famous Mistress of writer Ezra Pound, who's writings and letters were worth a small fortune. And we meet members of the Save Venice foundation, a non-profit organization that was created to help restore buildings and art in the city of Venice. But an implosion of the group was caused by mixing too many people with large egos wanting the Title and prestige involved with this organization.

I will readily admit I had high hopes for this book. I thought Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil about the city of Savannah, Georgia was fantastic! He did such a wonderful job describing the beauty of the city, as well as the eccentricity of it's people. Not so much with Venice, although he certainly tried. Maybe it's the fact that I just don't understand the Venetian culture the way I do culture in the US. Or maybe this book was more about the glitterati instead of just the average folks. Either way, it fell short for me. I really didn't get a chance to CARE about the people in this book. There were too many exceedingly shallow people that cared more for their titles and their parties than they did about anything else. The back story of the Fenice fire just seemed to get lost in it all. And since reality is never as cut-and-dried as fiction, we still don't know what really happened that night at the Fenice.

I did enjoy learning more about Ezra Pound and Olga Rudge. And I was intrigued about the side story of the poet Mario Stefani, a man that took his own life during this time period. But reading about the Save Venice Organization and their constant bickering over whose name would be at the top of the stationery and who got the best seats for a gala rather turned my stomach. As did the story of the Rylands and how they swindled a poor elderly woman AND her family out of their birthright. Maybe my expectations were just too high for this one. Venice is a beautiful city, one I'd love to visit some day. But this book didn't do much for me! Like a Seinfeld episode, it was a whole lot about nothing.

Only 'ok'........2007-09-19

I prefer books with a strong plot. This didn't really seem to have a strong plot and the pieced never really seems to come together as strongly as I had hoped. It may just be the style of this author... and if you like that type of style this would be a book for you.

Immensely enjoyable, but not up to Midnight in the Garden standards..........2007-09-03

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt is one of my favorite books, so I decided to read his latest, The City of Falling Angels. While the formula for both books is pretty much the same, Midnight is a much better book--only because Savannah is a much more quirky city than Venice, Italy.

As with Midnight in the Garden, Berendt combines many elements to create The City of Falling Angels. He provides a little history of Venice. He interviews dozens of colorful characters. And he focuses on a possible crime. In Falling Angels, this is the burning of Venice's famous opera house, La Fenice. As far as history, I felt the author could have provided a little more information about Venice's rich past. Venice has many interesting characters, and Berendt did his best to seek them out. He interviewed Murano glass blowers, city officials, American expatriates, artists, and even a man who considers himself a culinary expert. His specialty is making the world's best-selling rat poison. He also looks into the many famous Americans who made Venice their home, including Peggy Guggenheim and Ezra Pound. But the characters in Venice fell short of Savannah's eclectic bunch including The Lady Chablis, the Voodoo priestess Minerva and antiques dealer Jim Williams. Also, the Fenice fire didn't quite have the drama as the murder in Midnight in the Garden

But I still enjoyed The City of Falling Angels immensely, and John Berendt is a fine writer with a keen eye when it comes to describing places and sites that he visits. After witnessing the opera house fire, glassblower Archimede Seguso goes to his shop and starts creating glass vases like he's never made before. "Against an opaque background as black as night, he had set swirling ribbons of sinuous diamond shapes in red, green, white, and gold, leaping, over-lapping, and spiraling upward around the vase. He never explained what he was doing, but by the second vase, everyone knew. It was a record of the fire in glass--the flames, the sparks, the embers, and the smoke--just as he had seen if from his window..." As for why he chose this city, "Venice was uniquely beautiful, isolated, inward-looking, and a powerful stimulant to the senses, the intellect, and the imagination....Because I could not imagine a more enticing beat to assign myself for an indefinite period of time."

I don't think that The City of Falling Angels is going to do to Venice what Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil did to Savannah. However, after reading The City of Falling Angels, I'm certainly considering a trip to Italy.

Gave up after 103 pages.......2007-09-01

If a book cannot grab me within the first 100 pages, then I have to stop. Not only that, but it was due at the library, and there is a waiting list (why?). I just have little time, and so many other books to read.

I will say that what I did read was somewhat interesting, and the writing was good. I just wasn't that interested in the story - at least at 100+ pages. It must get better, but I wish that I was made to care earlier in the writing.

Sorry if this wasn't very helpful, this review is more of my opinion than a critique.

Average customer rating:

Garden in Venice

Manufacturer: LINCOLN FRANCES
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GYZMQM

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Gardens of Venice

Manufacturer: Rizzoli
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Il giardino veneziano: La storia, l'architettura, la botanica (Venetiae)

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Il giardino veneziano: La storia, l'architettura, la botanica (Venetiae)
Mariapia Cunico
Manufacturer: Albrizzi editore
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: 8831752405

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In the Garden

Manufacturer: Orchard Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Board book

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ASIN: 1852137088

Rugantino;: Or, The bravo of Venice. On which is founded the popular melo-drama now performing, with the most unbounded applause, at the Theatre-Royal, Covent Garden. Abridged from the German

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Rugantino;: Or, The bravo of Venice. On which is founded the popular melo-drama now performing, with the most unbounded applause, at the Theatre-Royal, Covent Garden. Abridged from the German
Heinrich Zschokke
Manufacturer: Printed for T. Hughes, by Roden & Lewis
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B00087PRYY

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If You're A Parent you need to read this!

It works!

Raising positive kids in a negative world

Positively Spectacular - Ziglar Knows His Stuff!

Every Parent Should Read This!

Raising Positive Kids in a Negative World
Zig Ziglar
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Marriage & Family | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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Ziglar, Zig | ( Z ) | Authors, A-Z | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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Accessories:

Health o Meter HDC100-01 "Grow with Me" Teddy Bear Scale for Babies and Toddlers Health o Meter HDC100-01 "Grow with Me" Teddy Bear Scale for Babies and Toddlers

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ASIN: 0785264787

Book Description

A child is not a computer that can be programmed to perform according to our desires. Each child is a unique human being with the free will to choose their path in life. With this in mind, Zig Ziglar shows parents how they can help their kids build a foundation of character from which to make the right choices in life. By modeling attitudes and actions that bring about positive results, parents can help their kids understand that life can be positive and that they have incredible worth in God's eyes. Drawing from his "I CAN" course which has been taught to over three million participants in over 5000 schools, Ziglar provides sensible guidelines to help parents handle a variety of issues including drugs, discipline, encouragement, television, and dating and sex.

Previous edition: 0-34541-022-x

Customer Reviews:

If You're A Parent you need to read this!.......2007-08-28

I read this book a few years ago and find it a great parenting guide!
Above all it's written by someone that practices what he preaches and is a great example for the world.

If we want a better world we need stronger families and that starts with better relationships between husbands & wives.

It works!.......2007-01-10

I was given this book when I was carrying my now 20 year old son. 3 kids later, I still consider this book a bible. I give it to any friend that is becoming a parent. My kids are the most awesome kids you will ever meet. They are sweet, positive, caring, hard workers,etc (Man, I sound like a mom!). I really get compliments of a great job done when someone meets my boys.
Buy and read it. Things will click!

Raising positive kids in a negative world.......2006-02-12

This book has been a tremendous encouragement and help to me as a parent. There are so many books out there on parenting and at times the advice contradicts and confuses. Reading this book has taken me back to the basics. I was reminded of what an awesome responsibility and privilege I have being a parent! I can strongly recommend this book to any parent!

Positively Spectacular - Ziglar Knows His Stuff!.......2005-09-11

I picked up this book as I was researching parenting techniques, and looking for ways I could raise my own 4 kids to be kids of character in this chaotic world we live in. I found a ton of great ideas, and wonderful real life applications in Raising Positive Kids in a Negative World! Zig has not only done his parenting research, but has LIVED it! He speaks from his heart, and shares his own life experiences as a dad in an easy to read format that will hopefully, give families across the country guidance and hope as they parent their own kids. Thanks Zig!

Trish Berg
Author/Columnist
(...)

Every Parent Should Read This!.......2003-09-11

Ziglar relates time-tested, practical, common sense parenting advice in a way only he can. Every parent should read this book and then share it with every other parent they know. It's even more fun to listen to in audio format! I've listened to hundreds of hours of Ziglar teachings, and I still learn from him every time.

Rick Allison, Founder& President
http://www.ChristianMommies.com
http://www.ChristianDaddies.com
Together, we can!

Raising Positive Kids in a Negative World ISBN 1562072064 Audio Cassettes in Clamshel
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Raising Positive Kids in a Negative World ISBN 1562072064 Audio Cassettes in Clamshel

Manufacturer: Zig Ziglar Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

Ziglar, Zig | ( Z ) | Authors, A-Z | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000GS7PVI

The New Raising Positive Kids in a Negative World
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The New Raising Positive Kids in a Negative World

Manufacturer: Nightingale Conant
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

Ziglar, Zig | ( Z ) | Authors, A-Z | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000FCO0EA

Product Description

6 Compact Discs plus a bonus CD In today's fast-paced ever-changing society, parents are hit with more controversial, pressure-packed decisions to make than ever before. With the Internet, cable television, and video games bombarding our children and attempting to make an assault on their minds daily, what are parents to do? In today's ever-changing economic and social climate, how do parents find the balance necessary to positively raise their children?

Raising Positive Kids In A Negative World

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Raising Positive Kids In A Negative World
Zig Ziglar
Manufacturer: Oliver Nelson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Raising Positive Kids in a Negative World (An audio cassette series to help you Discover the Masterpiece Behind the Mess)

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Raising Positive Kids in a Negative World (An audio cassette series to help you Discover the Masterpiece Behind the Mess)

Manufacturer: The Sig Ziglar Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

Product Description

Contains 6 Audio Cassete-Topics-A new vision for Raising Positive Kids/Real Motivation for Raising Positive kids/Your Child is a Tridemensional Being/Teamwork in Raising PositiveKids/Sex Education-Not Sex Invitation-Forgivens and Discipline are Keys-

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Raising Positive Kids in a Negative World
Zig Ziglar
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Raising Positive Kids in a Negative World
Zig Ziglar
Manufacturer: New York: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1985
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Raising Positive Kids In A Negative World
Ziglar
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JH0G8A

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Raising Positive Kids in a Negative World
Zig Ziglar
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Raising Positive Kids in a Negative World (An Audio Cassette Series to Help You Discover the Masterpiece Behind the Mess; ISBN 1562072064)

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Raising Positive Kids in a Negative World (An Audio Cassette Series to Help You Discover the Masterpiece Behind the Mess; ISBN 1562072064)

Manufacturer: Zig Ziglar Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
ASIN: 1562072064

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