As one of the world’s most famous and visited cities, there is naturally a vast choice of books on Venice, covering every spectrum you could imagine. This most romantic of places’ unrivalled beauty and charm is captured in, and can be enjoyed in, many books set in and about the city.

Travel guides are obviously extremely popular for those planning a visit. These relatively cheap itineraries manage to cram in basically everything in order to advise and suggest the best way to enjoy your holiday and get the most out of it. These invariably lively and helpful guides are perfect pocket companions for holidaymakers and are excellent for keeping you on the right track in every theme. Among the most popular and best are the Lonely Planet, Time Out and Rough Guide, all of which examine Venice as a must see place to go.

Other areas of Venice away from the tourist aspect are well represented too of course. The city’s history, traditions, culture et al are captured in volumes. Art, Architecture and the History of the city itself are core themes of Venice’ glorious past and distinction and are all are well represented in various books available.

The above subject matters may be the most popular purchase reading generally but there are many more topics on Venice for those looking for a particular ‘taste’ such as cooking and food guides for example. Language, maps, tours and even novels set in Venice could well be tempting to the knowledgeable.

http://goeurope.about.com/od/venice/tp/venicebooks.htm - James Martin offers his top ten books on Venice covering everything from travel to architecture and even a murder mystery novel set in the city.

For a fantastic and varied list of books on Venice, visit http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/venice/booklist.htm, this independent and well put together site gives a fascinating range of absolutely everything to do with books on Venice.

Did you Know?!?

The ancient Greek poet Homer’s epic poem Iliad is housed in the medieval public library at St Mark’s Square. It is the oldest existing copy and dates at least a thousand years.