Unlike any other guide, this stunningly illustrated handbook conducts visitors around Venice using the observations and opinions of famous writers and art historians to enlighten them. Among the people it quotes are Vasari, Ruskin, Berenson, Wittkower, Dickens, Henry James, A. J. C. Hare, Otto Demus, Ernst Gombrich, Michael Levey, Cecil Gould, Hugh Honour, and James Morris. The book divides Venice up into seven walks and four excursions. These divisions are accompanied by eight clear maps so that people can see the maximum number of sights, even with limited time. The illustrations, mostly taken from old engravings, provide a fascinating historical perspective on the present-day versions of the scenes and buildings they represent.