The City of Falling Angels

Venice, A City Steeped In A Thousand Years Of History, Art And Architecture, Teeters In Precarious Balance Between Endurance And Decay. Its Architectural Treasures Crumble--foundations Shift, Marble Ornaments Fall--even As Efforts To Preserve Them Are Underway. This Book Opens In 1996, When A Dramatic Fire Destroys The Historic Fenice Opera House, A Catastrophe For Venetians. Arriving Three Days After The Fire, Berendt Becomes A Kind Of Detective--inquiring Into The Nature Of Life In This Remarkable Museum-city--while Gradually Revealing The Truth About The Fire. He Introduces Us To A Rich Cast Of Characters, Venetian And Expatriate, In A Tale Full Of Atmosphere And Surprise Which Reveals A World As Finely Drawn As A Still-life Painting. The Fire And Its Aftermath Serve As A Leitmotif, Adding Elements Of Chaos, Corruption, And Crime And Contributing To The Ever-mounting Suspense. -- From Publisher Description. Prologue : The Venice Effect -- An Evening In Venice -- Dust & Ashes -- At Water Level -- Sleepwalking -- Slow Burn -- The Rat Man Of Treviso -- Glass Warfare -- Expatriates : The First Family -- The Last Canto -- For A Couple Of Bucks -- Opera Buffa -- Beware Of Falling Angels -- The Man Who Loved Others -- The Inferno Revisited -- Open House. John Berendt. Map Of Venice On Endpapers.