Dream of Venice Architecture Captures Ancient City Adrift in Modern World

Few cities offer as scenic a setting as canal-lined Venice, with a tapestry of buildings lining the waterways, all uniquely designed to stand out in this singular setting. It’s a centuries old artifact adrift in the modern world, making it a perfect subject for architects and architectural critics to wax poetic.

In Dream of Venice Architecture, 36 designers, writers, and thinkers recount the memories and inspirations they’ve taken from this dreamy lost city in a lagoon. The short essays, recounting the construction quirks, hidden secrets, and one-of-a-kind structures of Venice, are experienced like the flashes of memory, the type you might take away from your own trip. It’s a quick, engaging read, especially for those who have visited, improved by the addition of photos from Riccardo De Cal. Ranging from landscape portraits and fog-laden piazzas to noir-like visions of evening enveloping ancient architecture, the images help provide a sense of familiarity to the recollections and remembrances. Despite the entertaining essays, Venice can still seem like more of a vision than a physical place.