Venice has been regarded as the most beautiful city in the world, and architecturally it is perhaps the richest city in Europe. The French impressionists were drawn to Venice and found inspiration among the cities many treasures and continually changing effects of light.

For the visitor, Venice stimulates all of the senses. Above all, its environment awakens the visual sense, capturing the eye of the traveler and feeding the imagination. For more than a millennium the city has been chronicled in poetry, writing, painting, and by the late 19th century, photography.

The selection of photographs contained in this book, by no means comprehensive or documentary, expresses a personal viewpoint of Venice. A city endlessly photographed, probably more than any other Western city. In a constant effort to move beyond literal representation, I discovered that the anonymous parts of Venice reveal as much of the city’s essence as the highlighted attractions.