Venice Is a Fish: A New Guide

Venice, celebrated by poets, is one of the most visited and famous cities in the world. Tiziano Scarpa invites you to look at it from a new angle. Venice is a fish. If you look at its outline on a map, it resembles a giant flounder lying on the bottom of a lagoon, or a dorado sliding along the wave. Venice is a turtle. Its stone shell is made of gray blocks that line the streets. Venice is a place where you should throw away your map and get lost. Scarpa reveals the city’s secrets known only to Venetians, the native language of Venice that you need in order to know the city better. The author urges the reader to use all the senses: touch, hear, see, feel the city—reason should give way to feelings, especially to the heart, which in Venice you definitely can’t command.