The Souls of VenicePeople who have helped shape and been shaped by Venice are considered in five groups: the "mutilated culture heroes" (e.g., the eunuch Narses) who with some great sacrifice helped the city define itself; the "fugitives from splendor" (such as St. Pietro Orseolo or El Greco), so overwhelmed by beauty they fled the city; the "prisoners of Venice--the convicts, the cloistered, the mad; the "symbiotics" in communion with the city for long periods (Titian was one), and the "fugitives from self" (e.g., Igor Stravinsky), who have come from elsewhere seeking a new identity, and who ended up helping to create a new identity for the city itself. More than a collection of biographies, this richly textured and insightful work examines the roots of people's "Venice-ness" as well as the city's own humanity. |
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