Reading Around the World: Venice

~ Beth (Reading Every Night)

Reading Around the World is a feature that combines my love of travelling with my love of reading. Each month I plan to spotlight either a city I have visited, or a city I plan to visit in the near future, and recommend some of my favourite books set there. After all even if you can’t visit these cities yourself the next best thing has to be reading about them and living the experience through the eyes of the characters.

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Venice is a beautiful city. Literally my first thoughts on entering the city was how unique, quaint, and gorgeous it was. While most people will go to Venice for the shopping there are still plenty of sights to see – the Grand Canal and Rialto Bridge – and histories to experience – the Bridge of Sighs, Saint Mark’s Basilica and Doge’s Palace. It’s almost impossible to get lost in Venice with all paths eventually leading back to the Piazza San Marco, but there’s always something new to see along the way, whether you’re walking along the Grand Canal or down by one of the smaller canals.

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Like with Daughter of Smoke and Bone being the only book I’m aware of set in Prague I am only aware of one book set in Venice, so it’s going to be another month of quality over quantity.

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee travels all over Europe, so don’t be surprised if you see it in more Reading Around the World posts. Monty and Percy’s Grand Tour is full of danger and adventure in search of an alchemists’ cure that ends with them in Venice and at the sinking island of Maria e Marta.

One of my favourite things to read in books set in our world is travel over the country, and The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue had all that and more.

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue

Have you ever been to Venice before; what was your favourite part of the city to see and explore? Also what are some of the amazing books you’ve read set in Venice, or Italy, that you’d recommend? Let me know in the comments.

60 thoughts on “Reading Around the World: Venice”

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  9. Venice is such a gorgeous city and one I definitely plan on visiting in the future! Your pictures are beautiful, as they always are. 😉 I had no idea that The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue is set in Venice, it just makes me even more exited to pick that book up! Hopefully I will be able to get my hands on it soon. Amazing post! ❤

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    1. Thanks so much Anna, and oh I really hope you make it to Venice one day. It’s even more beautiful in person than it is in pictures. 🙂
      Yeah part of the book is (not the whole book but part of it is still something). Honestly it made me love the story even more because I’d been to Venice before reading The Gentleman’s Guide and I love seeing places I’ve been to in the books I read! 😀 Thanks so much. ❤

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  10. This is soooo beautiful. I think I’ll end up saying that for every one of your Reading Around the World posts though. But it’s trueeeee! Venice is totally high up there on the list too. It’s such an iconic place. I’d totally want to visit it during one of their nocturnal festivals. I don’t even know if those exists but movies/shows/games/etc. always show these amazing events at nights with lots of lights and dancing and all that I just can’t disassociate Venice from it hahah Thanks for sharing, Beth!!

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    1. Thanks so much Lashaan! 😀 Oh I feel like every city all around the world is beautiful, but at the same time Venice is kind of in a league of its own. There is actually a festival in Venice at the start of the year, I’m not sure if it’s a nocturnal one but I’d kind of like to be in the city for that for sure. I imagine it would be an incredible experience to see it all, and it would make the city even more worth discovering you know? 😀
      That’s all right, I’m glad you enjoyed this post Lashaan! 🙂 ❤

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  11. I love love love this feature 😍 I haven’t been to Venice, but I desperately want to and your picture made me want to go there even more 😀 I personally don’t know any books set in Venice either, but The Gentleman’s Guide is one of my priority reads this year 🙂

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    1. Thanks so much Caro. 🙂 Oh Venice is amazing, seeing the city for yourself with your own two eyes is better than seeing it in pictures so I really hope you make it there one day soon.
      And yes definitely try and pick up The Gentleman’s Guide soon, it’s such an incredible read. 🙂

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  12. Aaagh, all of these photos are so pretty, Beth! I’ve heard such great things about Venice, and I definitely want to visit it someday (and ride in a gondola haha). And agh, I totally forgot that Gentleman’s Guide was set in Venice as well! But to be fair, it has so many settings that it’s easy to forget. 😂 Great post! ❤

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    1. Thanks so much May! 😀 Oh Venice is such a beautiful city, I really hope you make it there one day because I’m sure you’ll really love it (me and my friend skipped the gondola’s, but we did ride in a water taxi which was really fun). Oh there are definitely a lot of settings in The Gentleman’s Guide, but for me that’s what made the book so much fun. 😀 Thanks again. 🙂 ❤

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  14. Venice looks beautiful in your pictures, especially with those classic canals and boats! 💕 I had no idea that The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue was set in Venice (at least, part of it is 😊), and did you mention that they go on a Grand Tour in the book? As in, the travels the sons of European aristocratic families would do all over Europe in the 16 and 1700s? 😮 I *just* learned about the Grand Tour in my history classes, and now I’m really interested in reading The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue if it relates to what I’m learning in school. 😆 Thanks for the recommendation, Beth!

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    1. Thanks so much Zoie. 🙂 Venice is an incredible city, and it seems like everything is so picturesque there as well. Ha, it is only part of The Gentleman’s Guide but it still counts enough for this feature in my mind.
      Yeah the story is all about Monty and Percy’s Grand Tour, granted it doesn’t go well but that’s what makes the whole book such fun. I’d definitely recommend it if you’re learning about Grand Tours in school, it’s practically required reading in my mind.
      That’s all right, I really hope you enjoy this book Zoie! 😀 ❤

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    1. It’s such a beautiful city isn’t it, definitely one of my top travel destinations (in Italy my top would have to be Rome!)
      Yeah there definitely needs to be more, but thanks to this post I have at least one more series set there (or around there) to get started on!) 😀 ❤️

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  16. *GO TO HIDE* I’m the Italian that has never been to Venice 😦 Sadly I never had the occasion, just like I never managed to get into the Colloseum, while living in Rome. Too many turist and real life always get in the way.
    Sadly I didn’t read many books set in my country

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    1. Oh see I live in the UK but there are some places I’ve never been to. I’ve never stepped foot in Ireland or Wales either and they’re really close to me. 🙂 I think when you live in the country travelling around there is never as much of a priority as travelling to other countries. 😀

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  18. Oh your pictures are stunning, Beth! I have to admit, if I thought that Venice was a beautiful city, it never really was on top of my bucket list… for now. I’ll have to reconsider, hahaha 🙂

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  20. Venice really is a very beautiful city- I love your pictures here! And I’m so looking forward to reading Gentleman’s Guide- even more so now you mention that they visit Venice. I have to agree with Christina about City of Masks- I really loved that book! and this is a fantastic post!

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    1. Oh it was breathtaking there, and thanks so much as well. 🙂
      The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue was a brilliant book, it was actually one of my favourite reads of last year. 😀 A lot of people have mentioned City of Masks, I’ve gone from thinking I should potentially check it out to be 100% certain I should grab a copy and start reading tomorrow! 😀

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  21. I would love to go to Venice one day, it’s such a beautiful looking city! It also has so much rich history that I would love to learn more about. I haven’t had the chance to read Gentleman’s Guide, but I love traveling books so I hope to pick it up sometime soon!

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    1. Oh it’s definitely a beautiful city, there’s so much to explore there and definitely a lot of history to discover as well. I’m sure you’ll love Venice when you do make it there, and hopefully you’ll enjoy The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue when you pick it up as well. It was one of my favourite reads of 2017! 😀

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  24. I haven’t read too many books set in Venice but I really really want to visit there and one of the main reasons for this is because of the book series I read when I was younger called Stravaganza. Each book was set in a different city in an alternate universe version of Renaissance Italy – the first, City of Masks, was set in Belezza aka Venice. I think I owe my love of fantasy to those books. And I WILL get to Venice one of these days… eventually… hopefully!

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    1. Oh that’s incredible. 🙂 After Christina mentioned the Stravaganza series I figured I should probably check it out, but after hearing it’s a series you owe your love of fantasy too I feel like I should definitely pick those books up. The fact that it’s set in Italy is already a major draw for me. 🙂
      I hope you manage to make it to Venice one day then Emma. I’m sure you’ll love it there especially if it’s a dream place for you. 😀

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    1. Thanks so much Aislynn. 😀 Italy is incredible, one of my favourite places actually. So far I’ve only been to Rome, Milan and Venice but I’ve had a brilliant time at each place and want to see the rest of the country as well.
      I hope you make it to Sicily one day soon then. 🙂

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  26. Really like these posts!
    It depends on which genres you like to read, but I have read some excellent historical novels set in Venice, such as The Floating Book. I also loved the MG/YA book City of Masks (Stravaganza series) and the fantasy, The Masked City. There are lots of others but I can’t think of the titles at the moment…

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    1. Someone else who has read City or Masks, aaah! You have no idea how excited this makes me since I feel like no one has read it which is such a shame because it’s SO good. 🙂

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    2. Thanks so much. 🙂 Yeah I mainly read YA books so that tends to be where most of my recommendations come from, but I know there are plenty of other books set all over the world so I could try branching out a little for my next Reading Around the World post.
      Oh I’ve heard of the Stravaganza series, I think I had it on my to-read list at one point so I may have to check it out. 😀

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      1. I really enjoyed it, though the first book is probably still my favourite. Still haven’t read the last one so need to get a hold of it. Each book is set in a different Italian city, but the later books have some travel between them. Hope you like them!

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