ArtCurious
ArtCurious

Author: Jennifer Dasal

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2020-09-15

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 0143134590

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A wildly entertaining and surprisingly educational dive into art history as you've never seen it before, from the host of the beloved ArtCurious podcast We're all familiar with the works of Claude Monet, thanks in no small part to the ubiquitous reproductions of his water lilies on umbrellas, handbags, scarves, and dorm-room posters. But did you also know that Monet and his cohort were trailblazing rebels whose works were originally deemed unbelievably ugly and vulgar? And while you probably know the tale of Vincent van Gogh's suicide, you may not be aware that there's pretty compelling evidence that the artist didn't die by his own hand but was accidentally killed--or even murdered. Or how about the fact that one of Andy Warhol's most enduring legacies involves Caroline Kennedy's moldy birthday cake and a collection of toenail clippings? ArtCurious is a colorful look at the world of art history, revealing some of the strangest, funniest, and most fascinating stories behind the world's great artists and masterpieces. Through these and other incredible, weird, and wonderful tales, ArtCurious presents an engaging look at why art history is, and continues to be, a riveting and relevant world to explore.

Venice
Venice

Author: Alberto Toso Fei

Publisher: Marsilio Editori

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9788895836133

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"As the 13th century drew to a close, Marco Polo returned from China with the Ruyi, a legendary scepter he stole from Emperor Kublai Khan. After Marco Polo's death, the magical sword lay hidden with the traveler in his tomb in Venice. Today, both the tomb and the scepter have vanished. Carlo Dolfin, an old Venetian professor, has found some papers in his personal archive that could be of vital importance to locate the Ruyi. But he needs your help to find it, before it falls into the wrong hands"--

The Violinist of Venice
The Violinist of Venice

Author: Alyssa Palombo

Publisher: Macmillan + ORM

Published: 2015-12-15

Total Pages: 401

ISBN-13: 1466882638

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Like most 18th century Venetians, Adriana d'Amato adores music—except her strict merchant father has forbidden her to cultivate her gift for the violin. But she refuses to let that stop her from living her dreams and begins sneaking out of her family's palazzo under the cover of night to take violin lessons from virtuoso violinist and composer Antonio Vivaldi. However, what begins as secret lessons swiftly evolves into a passionate, consuming love affair. Adriana's father is intent on seeing her married to a wealthy, prominent member of Venice's patrician class—and a handsome, charming suitor, whom she knows she could love, only complicates matters—but Vivaldi is a priest, making their relationship forbidden in the eyes of the Church and of society. They both know their affair will end upon Adriana's marriage, but she cannot anticipate the events that will force Vivaldi to choose between her and his music. The repercussions of his choice—and of Adriana's own choices—will haunt both of their lives in ways they never imagined. Spanning more than 30 years of Adriana's life, Alyssa Palombo's The Violinist of Venice is a story of passion, music, ambition, and finding the strength to both fall in love and to carry on when it ends.

Legends Of Venice
Legends Of Venice

Author: Anonymous

Publisher: Legare Street Press

Published: 2023-07-18

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781020441318

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This beautifully illustrated book offers a collection of traditional legends and tales from the city of Venice. From stories of love and intrigue to tales of ghosts and magic, these works evoke the rich cultural heritage of one of the world's most beloved cities. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

The Venice Variations
The Venice Variations

Author: Sophia Psarra

Publisher: UCL Press

Published: 2018-04-30

Total Pages: 335

ISBN-13: 1787352390

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From the myth of Arcadia through to the twenty-first century, ideas about sustainability – how we imagine better urban environments – remain persistently relevant, and raise recurring questions. How do cities evolve as complex spaces nurturing both urban creativity and the fortuitous art of discovery, and by which mechanisms do they foster imagination and innovation? While past utopias were conceived in terms of an ideal geometry, contemporary exemplary models of urban design seek technological solutions of optimal organisation. The Venice Variations explores Venice as a prototypical city that may hold unique answers to the ancient narrative of utopia. Venice was not the result of a preconceived ideal but the pragmatic outcome of social and economic networks of communication. Its urban creativity, though, came to represent the quintessential combination of place and institutions of its time. Through a discussion of Venice and two other works owing their inspiration to this city – Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities and Le Corbusier’s Venice Hospital – Sophia Psarra describes Venice as a system that starts to resemble a highly probabilistic ‘algorithm’, that is, a structure with a small number of rules capable of producing a large number of variations. The rapidly escalating processes of urban development around our big cities share many of the motivations for survival, shelter and trade that brought Venice into existence. Rather than seeing these places as problems to be solved, we need to understand how urban complexity can evolve, as happened from its unprepossessing origins in the marshes of the Venetian lagoon to the ‘model city’ that endured a thousand years. This book frees Venice from stereotypical representations, revealing its generative capacity to inform potential other ‘Venices’ for the future.

Rome
Rome

Author: Alberto Toso Fei

Publisher: Marsilio Editori

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9788895836171

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The mysteries and legends of the Eternal City are unveiled through the interactive pages of the WhaiWhai guidebook: an unconventional guide for tourists and travelers who are looking for an out-of-the-ordinary experience. In the WhaiWhai guidebook series, readers will experience an interactive treasure hunt through six cities, unlocking their mysteries and discovering their most charming corners. To play, all you need is the WhaiWhai guide and a mobile phone. Send a text message to WhaiWhai that includes a special code and immediately receive your first clue. As you travel to each new location throughout the city, a new clue is revealed. Each city has a different treasure, and finding it will be an exciting experience. WhaiWhai combines history and fantasy, allowing readers to step into a story that plays out inside the city, sparking their curiosity and making them the hero of an adventure. In Rome: The Ruyi, discover what’s hiding behind the history of the Eternal City. The story of the magical sword Marco Polo stole from China continues in another city, a city at least as exceptional as Venice. It appears that over the centuries, the Ruyi changed hands many times, from popes to artists, from necromancers to prostitutes, from lords to commoners; each learned the history of this magical object and each hid it in a different place for a different reason. The Ruyi reached Rome centuries ago; the city now bears so many signs of its passage that traditional Roman legends can be read in light of this incredible story. Carlo Dolfin, the old professor who learned of the affair in Venice, believes that the scepter came to Rome, but can no longer be recognized in its original form. That's not all. Some documents he hastily recovered suggest that even the Roman Empire was rooted in the power of a magical object and that the strength of the Caesars declined when they lost track of it. He therefore suspects that the Chinese Ruyi could be a variation of that magical object from ancient Rome.

Dead in Venice
Dead in Venice

Author: Fiona Leitch

Publisher:

Published: 2019-10-08

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 9781698396477

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AUDIBLE CRIME GRANT FINALIST 2018 Award-winning crime novelist Bella Tyson has it all: a successful career, devoted fans - and a bad case of writer's block. So when a fan sends her a book of Venetian ghost stories and offers her the use of an apartment near Piazza San Marco, Bella jumps at the chance to get her Eat Pray Love on, consume her bodyweight in gelato and explore the atmospheric canals of Venice.She meets Will, a mild-mannered, middle class Interpol agent working in the city, and is swept away by him. And when a series of gruesome murders occur he's on the case - with Bella in tow.Her writer's block is well and truly cured, her new novel is under way, and she's madly in love. But Bella realises that not everything in Venice is as it seems...PRAISE FOR 'DEAD IN VENICE': "Absolutely stonking book. Rom-com meets crime in such a fresh and refreshing way. Dirty laughed through half of the book and cried at the end. Amazing book." "Bella is the kind of heroine most women would love to be and Will the kind of man we'd love to meet. Funny, loud-mouthed, mature protagonists with flaws, curves and the kind of wit that makes Fiona Leitch's writing reminiscent of Richard Curtis' films.""Oh what fun! Hilarious and witty protagonist in one of the best cities in the world. Suspenseful and kept me hooked.""Ms Leitch's light tone contrasts with the very serious subject matter, which makes it all the more emotional and powerful. It is in turn horrifying, funny, tender, hopeful, or sad. This is a courageous book, devoid of sentimentality but full of sentiment.""A combination of gritty crime thriller, hilarious rom-com, with a splash of the heart-wrenching emotions. And it works.""An entertaining mash-up of rom-com and crime.""DEAD IN VENICE made me fall in love with fiction again."