The Venetian Bride

A true story of vendetta and intrigue, triumph and tragedy, exile and repatriation, this book recounts the interwoven microhistories of Count Girolamo Della Torre, a feudal lord with a castle and other properties in the Friuli, and Giulia Bembo, grand-niece of Cardinal Pietro Bembo and daughter of Gian Matteo Bembo, a powerful Venetian senator with a distinguished career in service to the Venetian Republic. Their marriage in the mid-sixteenth century might be regarded as emblematic of the Venetian experience, with the metropole at the center of a fragmented empire: a Terraferma nobleman and the daughter of a Venetian senator, who raised their family in far off Crete in the stato da mar, in Venice itself, and in the Friuli and the Veneto in the stato da terra. The fortunes and misfortunes of the nine surviving Della Torre children and their descendants, tracked through the end of the Republic in 1797, are likewise emblematic of a change in feudal culture from clan solidarity to individualism and intrafamily strife, and ultimately, redemption. Despite the efforts by both the Della Torre and the Bembo families to preserve the patrimony through a succession of male heirs, the last survivor in the paternal bloodline of each was a daughter. This epic tale highlights the role of women in creating family networks and opens a precious window into a contentious period in which Venetian republican values clash with the deeply rooted feudal traditions of honor and blood feuds of the mainland.

A true story of vendetta and intrigue, triumph and tragedy, exile and repatriation, this book recounts the interwoven microhistories of Count Girolamo Della Torre, a feudal lord with a castle and other properties in the Friuli, and Giulia Bembo, grand-niece of Cardinal Pietro Bembo and daughter of Gian Matteo Bembo, a powerful Venetian senator with a distinguished career in service to the Venetian Republic. Their marriage in the mid-sixteenth century might be regarded as emblematic of the Venetian experience, with the metropole at the center of a fragmented empire: a Terraferma nobleman and the daughter of a Venetian senator, who raised their family in far off Crete in the stato da mar, in Venice itself, and in the Friuli and the Veneto in the stato da terra. The fortunes and misfortunes of the nine surviving Della Torre children and their descendants, tracked through the end of the Republic in 1797, are likewise emblematic of a change in feudal culture from clan solidarity to individualism and intrafamily strife, and ultimately, redemption. Despite the efforts by both the Della Torre and the Bembo families to preserve the patrimony through a succession of male heirs, the last survivor in the paternal bloodline of each was a daughter. This epic tale highlights the role of women in creating family networks and opens a precious window into a contentious period in which Venetian republican values clash with the deeply rooted feudal traditions of honor and blood feuds of the mainland.

Private eye Darcy Maddox has been hired to investigate Federico Lucci, who’s under suspicion of embezzlement. She arrives in Venice and finds “Federico,” but the man she’s found is actually Guido posing as his friend. Darcy has no interest in a relationship, but, in order to investigate “Federico,” she spends time with him. Soon they both feel their relationship starting to grow, but both feel guilty for keeping their true identity hidden. How long can they wear the masks that hide their true faces? And how will they react when the truth is laid bare?

The Venetian Playboy's Bride by Lucy Gordon released on Mar 25, 2003 is available now for purchase.

Presents a survey of sixty Venetian Renaissance paintings of the calibre of Bellini and Titian's "Feast of the Gods" in Washington and Giorgione's "Laura and Three Philosophers" in Vienna.

The Venetian One-Night Baby - Melanie Milburne It was a sizzling encounter…then a baby binds them forever! A hotel booking mix-up in Venice means wedding dress designer Sabrina Midhurst must share a room with her nemesis: wealthy, brooding businessman Max Firbank. It’s infuriating —- until an unexpected night of passion awakens a need Sabrina didn’t even know was possible! They’ve always battled their super-charged attraction, so when Sabrina confesses she’s pregnant, she’s stunned by Max’s demand: that she wear his ring! The Bride’s Awakening - Kate Hewitt He’s going to teach her how to be a woman! Vittorio Ralfino, the Count of Cazlevara, is back in Italy to find a traditional wife. Anamaria Viale, a good local girl, loyal and scandal-free, is perfect. Anamaria’s stunned that her teenage crush is proposing to her…an ugly duckling! Tall, voluptuous and awkward, she’s stoically resigned herself to singledom. But Vittorio is persuasive — and passionate! He offered marriage as a business proposition — but very soon unlocks a deep, powerful need in Ana’s untouched body that only he can sate… The Truth Behind His Touch - Cathy Williams Women always jump at the click of his fingers…don’t they? Hot and flustered from the sweltering Milan heat Caroline Rossi steps into the sleek offices of Giancarlo De Vita — only to feel plump, plain…and virtually invisible! Giancarlo’s ruthless ambition got him where he is today, but he’s never forgotten the hardships he overcame — or his thirst for a revenge only Caroline can help him enact. Used to women doing anything to please him, Giancarlo is confounded by Caroline — she just won’t play ball. To seek his vengeance, Giancarlo will have to turn on the legendarily irresistible de Vito charm…

This volume brings together the published academic essays of the Renaissance historian Patricia Hochschild Labalme (1927-2002). Appearing between 1955 and 1999, they deal with the intellectual, social and religious life of Venice in the 15th-16th centuries. An important focus is the exploration of the careers, milieu and writings of cultural and literary women of early modern Venice, a field to which the author made a particular contribution.

Often hailed as one of the best travel books ever written, Venice is neither a guide nor a history book, but a beautifully written immersion in Venetian life and character, set against the background of the city's past. Analysing the particular temperament of Venetians, as well as its waterways, its architecture, its bridges, its tourists, its curiosities, its smells, sounds, lights and colours, there is scarcely a corner of Venice that Jan Morris has not investigated and brought vividly to life. Jan Morris first visited the city of Venice as young James Morris, during World War II. As she writes in the introduction, 'it is Venice seen through a particular pair of eyes at a particular moment - young eyes at that, responsive above all to the stimuli of youth.' Venice is an impassioned work on this magnificent but often maddening city. Jan Morris's collection of travel writing and reportage spans over five decades and includes such titles as Sydney, Coronation Everest, Hong Kong, Spain and Manhattan '45. Since its first publication, Venice has appeared in many editions, won the W.H. Heinemann award and become an international bestseller. 'The best book about Venice ever written' Sunday Times 'No sensible visitor should visit the place without it . . . Venice stands alone as the essential introduction, and as a work of literature in its own right.' Observer