These are the best books about Venice, Italy, that I have read. I believe you will find them gripping, fascinating, and informative, just like the city of Venice.
Venice, An Interior by Javier Marías
Marías touches on the tragedy of cruise ships and the massive tourist trade that dominates one of the great cities of the world, but this is a love story between an artist and an enchanting, singular city. Even if you’re not planning to travel to Venice, you will be captivated by this little book. It’s one of the best and most charming books about Venice, Italy.
Read review on The Economist.
If Venice Dies by Salvatore Settis
If Venice Dies, by archaeologist and art historian Salvatore Settis, is a magnificent read and a warning shot across the bow for every historic city.
The barbarians are at the gates of Venice, and they are the tourists. There are 140 tourists for every Venetian, and the Venetian population has been cut in half as residents escape to the mainland.
There’s only one business in Venice, and that’s tourism. Hotels are being built everywhere, and skyscrapers are under consideration too. Monster ships anchor in the Adriatic, disrupting the sea and unloading masses of consumers into the noble city. The old Venice is being sold off and turned into a theme park. City officials have appraised its landmarks as if they were commercial real estate.
Most important, Venice is forgetting who she is and what she represented and still represents. If Venice Dies is a passionate plea to save Venice’s soul from consumerism and greed. It’s one of the best and most important recent books about Venice, Italy.
Read review @ NY Times.
Venice: A New History by Thomas F. Madden
Venice: A New History opened the door for me to the history and meaning of Venice, Italy. It’s a sublime story that runs from the city’s beginnings around AD 421, when its people fled to the lagoon as the Roman Empire collapsed, through its rise as a sea power and economic juggernaut, the Renaissance, and on to the present. The plagues, battles, scandals, mistakes, victories, and grand architecture are all here, but what impressed me most was Venice’s hatred of dictators; it did not have one for 1,200 years.
Venice has its share of sins, including its role in the Crusades and its Jewish ghetto, which gave us the word “ghetto.”
The Venice story is complex, and Madden weaves an engaging narrative that captures the many layers of Venetian society. I listened to it on Audible, and the narrator, Edward Ballerini, did an outstanding job of bringing this well-researched tale to life. The book has earned a 4.6 out of 5 rating from Audible listeners.
I’ve read four or five history books about Venice, but Venice: A New History was the most comprehensive and captivating. It is certainly one of the best books about Venice, Italy.
Read review @ NY Times.
Death in Venice by Thomas Mann
Death in Venice is a story of repression, beauty, youth, and obsession more than of decadence or eroticism.
Gustav von Aschenbach is a lonely, aging German writer battling the demons of a cerebral and isolated life. Run down, he decides to travel to Venice for some Italian charm, romance, and beauty. There he first sees Tadzio, a fourteen-year-old Polish boy of rare beauty. Tadzio is at an age when youth radiates perfect skin, hair, and androgyny. The sight of him begins to stir a lifetime of inhibition in Gustav.
Gustav soon spends his days watching Tadzio on the beach and following him around Venice. Even though cholera is spreading through the city, Gustav keeps going out, openly obsessed with the boy. Tadzio is aware of the man’s attention and seems pleased by his adoration. The boy poses and smiles for Gustav, until his guardians notice the lonely old man’s obsession and work to protect Tadzio from him.
Although he never speaks to or touches the boy, Gustav’s obsession has turned erotic. On the beach, when the boy half-turns toward him, Gustav starts to rise but collapses and dies.
I believe all beautiful young men and women have experienced, in their youth, a mild obsession or admiration from an adult who was obviously attracted to them, in an innocent or not-so-innocent way.
It’s a classic read set in Venice, Italy.
My Venice and Other Essays
Donna Leon, the well-known author of page-turning crime novels set in Venice, Italy, has lived in Venice for more than 25 years.
I was excited to read Leon’s firsthand observations and experiences of Venice. I’ve always loved Paul Bowles’s writing about Morocco, and Leon’s essays about Venice did not disappoint.
The essays are mostly short observations on issues close to home for Venetians, such as trash, life without cars, graffiti, the opera house, tourists, and much more.
Leon has strong opinions and isn’t afraid to share her passion. I enjoyed the vignettes and plan to give her mysteries a read as well.
Venice Art and History by Lorenza Smith
Venice Art and History by Lorenza Smith is a wonderful book I picked up in a used bookstore. The publisher, Arsenale Editrice, is based in Venice and produces illustrated books on art, architecture, archaeology, Venice, and Murano glass, as well as reprints. It’s also an award-winning printer of photography books.
The photos capture the magic of the art and architecture of Venice, Italy. This is probably the best book on this list for getting a sense of today’s Venice. The photos and text focus on St. Mark’s Square, the Grand Canal, palaces, places of worship, schools, bridges, gardens, the Arsenal, the islands, and much more.
Venice Art and History connects the historical, political, personal, and artistic aspects of this timeless city. It’s one of the best books about Venice, Italy, to own and keep on your coffee table.
The Mysteries of Bowie and Other Oddities by Joseph Raffetto
Full disclosure: I wrote this book. I don’t compare it to the other books on this list. I included it because the collection contains the novella “Venice to Venice,” which links Venice, Italy, with Venice, California. It’s an interesting and thought-provoking mystery thriller that gives you a sense of both Venices.
Kirkus Reviews wrote: “Raffetto’s prose is controlled but always surprising, illustrating vividly ominous scenes for readers. The novellas (‘The Mysteries of Game Theory’ and ‘Venice to Venice’) are the strongest pieces in the collection. The author’s muscular prose and penchant for forging puzzling narratives find a home inside the genre’s grittiness.”
Seattle Book Review wrote that the collection “explores the ever-present tension between freedom and oppression and the desire to build a functional, sustainable world. The new work includes ‘Bowie and the Berlin Wall,’ a fresh look at David Bowie’s impact on Berlin and the fall of the Wall; ‘Venice to Venice,’ a novella about sacrifice, martyrdom, and civic redemption; ‘The Mysteries of Game Theory,’ a post-pandemic thriller….”
BookLife named The Mysteries of Bowie and Other Oddities an Editor’s Pick and called it an “essential read on the interconnectedness of war and the struggle for peace.”
Read reviews on Goodreads.
See on AudioBooks (3 free books), Audible/Amazon, or BN.com.
Italian Journey by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Who better than Goethe to record his observations on the art, nature, and local flavor of the city and the Venetians he encounters on his travels?
Goethe also writes candidly about his personal troubles, which makes for fascinating reading. Italian Journey by Goethe is one of the best early books about Venice and Italy.
Venice Observed by Mary McCarthy
A wonderful writer, Mary McCarthy brings her artistic eye and intellect to every aspect of the city on the sea.
Here’s a sample of her fine writing: “The Venetians go to look at the tourists, and the tourists look back at them. It is all for the ear and eye, this city, but primarily for the eye. Built on water, it is an endless succession of reflections and echoes, a mirroring.”
McCarthy captures the art, architecture, culture, history, and daily life of Venice, and she understands the city’s importance. She is especially entertaining when she discusses Montaigne, Stendhal, Spencer, Henry James, and others who visited Venice.
Venice Observed by Mary McCarthy is one of the best books about Venice, Italy.
Venice: The Remarkable History of the Lagoon City by Dennis Romano
This is another fine history of Venice. Romano takes a fresh look at Venice’s past and present, including its architecture, art, and music, and the fascinating people who made Venice, as well as its many memorable visitors.
Venice by Jan Morris
One of the beautiful things about the best books about Venice is that their writers not only have in-depth personal experience of the city but can also describe it so well. Jan Morris first went to Venice in 1945 as a British Army intelligence officer and returned countless times throughout her life. It’s easy to fall in love with her vivid, worldly prose, melancholic irony, and playful humor, which make for rich, immersive reading.
The Stones of Venice by John Ruskin
If you love tangible, long-standing evidence of a refined culture shaping the present day and want to learn more about Venice, you’ll love The Stones of Venice. Jack-of-all-trades John Ruskin uses his knowledge of art history and his drive for social reform to show that Venice exemplifies the principles he believed society should revolve around: that labor makes thought healthy and thought makes labor happy, creating a more wholesome society.
Find the best books about Venice, Italy on Audiobooks, Amazon/Audible, and Bookstores who are not Amazon.
Another creative and fabulous novel that is half based in Venice, Italy during the Biennial is Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi by Geoff Dyer. You can read Noovella’s review here.
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