Venice has been my soul's home since my first glimpse on a gray, chilly, rainy October afternoon. The light was stunning and it was love at first sight.
Since it has long been a goal of mine to spend a winter in Venice, I was delighted to receive a copy of this new book of photographs and essays.
Washington Post photography columnist, Frank Van Riper, and his photographer wife, Judith Goodman, have produced a gorgeous book, Serenissima: Venice in Winter.
With over 125 stunning photos, it captures the deep beauty and magic of a place that all too often is portrayed as a kind of touristy Disneyland of riotous color and carnival banality.
From Serenissima (c) Goodman/VanRiper
It's an oversize book of black and white photographs of Venice, shot in the half-light gray tones of winter afternoons, early mornings, and dark misty nights.
It's a book of Venetian faces-- of firefighters and brides, children and chance encounters.
From Serenissima (c) Goodman/VanRiper
It's photos of shadowy passageways, hidden gardens, small canals and bridges shot with sensitivity and an artist's eye.
In Serenissima you'll also find eerily lovely photos of well-known places like Piazza San Marco, and the jewel box La Fenice transformed into something new and evocative in the winter light.
But that's not all. Van Riper's accompanying essays offer an excellent introduction to Venetian history and insight into the challenges she faces with an aging dwindling population, high water, and rapidly disappearing every day commodities.
Yet these personal essays are not just a re-hashing of the usual material that you can find in so many other books.
These are enhanced with stories about the people and places in the photos and colored by this couple's love of the the Venice that comes out only in the winter.
Whether you are longing to get back to Venice or preparing to see it for the first time, Serenissima: Venice in Winter is a fine addition to your library.
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Links: See more photos on Serenissma's web page, read about the saga of getting Serenissma published, and learn about Frank Van Riper's and Judith Goodman's photo tours to Italy and Maine.


