Venetian Dreaming

Who hasn't longed to escape to the enchanting canals and mysterious alleyways of Venice? Globetrotting writer Paula Weideger not only dreamed the dream, she took the leap. In Venetian Dreaming, she charts the course of her love affair with one of the world's most treasured cities.

Weideger's search for a place to live eventually takes her to the Palazzo Donà dalle Rose, one of the rare Venetian palaces continuously inhabited by the family that built it. She weaves the past lives of the family Donà with her own adventures as she threads her way through the labyrinthine city. Art and architecture are a constant presence. Yet even more strongly felt is the passage of time, the panorama of the seasons as reflected in special events — Carnival, the Film Festival, September's historic regatta, midnight mass at San Marco. We follow Weideger as she explores the Ghetto, the expatriate community, and the lives of locals from noblemen to boatmen. Along the way she encounters everyone from the ghost of Peggy Guggenheim to the Merchant Ivory crowd, and experiences some high drama with the Contessa, her landlady. The resulting memoir is a wry and illuminating, intelligent and tender account of the once grand heritage and now imperiled future of Venice.

Who hasn't longed to escape to the enchanting canals and mysterious alleywaysof Venice? Globetrotting writer Paula Weideger not only dreamed the dream, she took the leap. In Venetian Dreaming, she charts the course of her love affair with one of the world's most treasured cities.

Weideger's search for a place to live eventually takes her to the Palazzo Donà dalle Rose, one of the rare Venetian palaces continuously inhabited by the family that built it. She weaves the past lives of the family Donà with her own adventures as she threads her way through the labyrinthine city. Art and architecture are a constant presence. Yet even more strongly felt is the passage of time, the panorama of the seasons as reflected in special events — Carnival, the Film Festival, September's historic regatta, midnight mass at San Marco. We follow Weideger as she explores the Ghetto, the expatriate community, and the lives of locals from noblemen to boatmen. Along the way she encounters everyone from the ghost of Peggy Guggenheim to the Merchant Ivory crowd, and experiences some high drama with the Contessa, her landlady. The resulting memoir is a wry and illuminating, intelligent and tender account of the once grand heritage and now imperiled future of Venice.

Library Journal

Similar to Adam Gopnik's Paris to the Moon, this travel narrative offers a look at daily life in Venice from the perspective of a native New Yorker who knows only a little Italian. A frequent contributor to Town & Country, Weideger had always dreamed of living in Venice, and readers can feel her anxious delight as she describes every detail of her apartment in the Palazzo Dona dalle Rose a Venetian palace she had read about in a history book. Weideger deftly weaves Venetian history and the history of the Dona family (who still occupy the palace) throughout her yearlong explorations of the city's churches, markets, foods, and art. At times, the author as well as the narrative struggle with the landlord's rude attempt to dislodge Weideger to make room for members of a Merchant-Ivory production team. Unfortunately, those tense exchanges taint what is otherwise a wonderful portrayal of Italian life. Reading about how Weideger negotiates the rules, language, and etiquette of life in Venice would be helpful to anyone who plans to visit the city, and tempting for those who don't. Appropriate for all public libraries. Mari Flynn, Keystone Coll., La Plume, PA Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Paula Weideger is a lifelong New Yorker, despite years lived abroad. A founder of the Writers Room in Manhattan, her work has appeared in The New York Times, Town & Country, and many other publications. She is the author of four previous books.