Bella Venezia! Stories About Life in the City on the Water, Its People, Events, Encounters and Local Traditions

Venice is far more than canals and islands. It’s beauty and aesthetics in every building, narrow streets that, like a casket, keep their inimitable stories. It’s an incredible interweaving of people and destinies.

Author Ekaterina Kolosova (@katya_tesoro) has lived in Italy since 2014 and loves the city on the water with all her heart. Over the years she tried to understand the phenomenon of Venetian culture by talking extensively with people for whom Venice occupies a special place in life. Some live here and do their beloved work; some moved at the call of the heart; and some tenderly love the city from afar.

As a result of these interviews, a book took shape—a kaleidoscope of vivid stories, among them:
• Opera singer Lyubov Kazarnovskaya and a story about the genius Antonio Vivaldi.
• Art historian-philosopher Gleb Smirnov—author of books «Artodoxia» and «The Metaphysics of Venice».
• Anastasia Kozachenko-Stravinskaya, great-great-grandniece of the legendary Igor Stravinsky, who is buried in the city of bridges and canals.
• Popular Italian writer Alberto Toso Fei.
• Dynastic winemakers of the Bizol family in the 21st generation, who managed to revive the ancient Venetian wine «Venissa».
• Marino Menegazzi—the last gold-beater of Venice, whose workshop is located in the house of Titian.
• The Galasso family, who create incredible masks considered works of art.

And many other stories that let you touch real Venice and feel the delight of meeting it! You’ll learn the many secrets the city is filled with, and—most importantly—you’ll absorb the inimitable Italian atmosphere.

«Venice… It’s a haven of mystical souls, “The Quay of the Incorrigibles” (Brodsky) with love for its canals, palaces, carnivals, melodies, bridges, and riddles beyond number… A city from another dimension, a city of lovers, a city that sounds with splashes of cheerful waves on gondolas under loud voices and mandolin tremolos of the virtuoso gondoliers… And of course, this city is the tomb of geniuses who sang this miracle of the world with all the power of their talents and divine mastery. Hear all about this in this wonderful book by Ekaterina Kolosova». — Lyubov Kazarnovskaya, opera singer, heroine of Chapter 20