At Last, the Venice of My Dreams

When I was planning my first trip to Venice a few years ago I dreamed of sitting on Piazza San Marco at twilight, sipping on a fruity peach Bellini while I listened to a café orchestra. But my dreams were squelched by an unfortunate spell of rainy weather. Where were the sunny skies I’d envisioned for my Italian holiday?

Rainy Day in Venice (2010)

"F" is for Forcola

The gondola is an enduring image of the watery city of Venice. These flat-bottomed boats are rowed through congested canals by an agile gondolier and a single long oar. Holding the oar in place is the forcola, or oar lock. Forcole (the plural of forcola) are still hand-carved today by skilled local craftsmen and they’re not only functional; they’re also works of art.

Gondola Forcola, or Oar Lock

Dan Brown's Inferno: Venice in Photos

In Dan Brown's latest novel, Inferno, Robert Langdon leads readers on another thrilling chase through the streets of Florence and Venice. I've assembled my own photos of some of the locations in the book. (Update: There are more photos from a second trip to Venice in the post Dan Brown's Inferno: More Venice in Photos.)

After completing his quest in the historic centre of Florence, Langdon boards a train bound for Venice, La Serenissima, and arrives at Santa Lucia Station.