The City of Falling Angels

John Berendt
Sceptre
€26.00

This evocatively-titled non-fiction book brings to life the mystery and decadence of Venice, which Berendt describes as ‘a floating city of domes and bell towers’. Arriving in the city three days after the burning of the splendid Fenice, arguably one of the most beautiful opera houses in the world, Berendt scrupulously records the aftermath of the devastation. He describes the former glory of the sumptuous building, with its ‘crescendo of ornamentation’: sartyrs, nymphs, angels and swirls being only some of the decorative adornments of a building that also ironically boasted frescos of Dante’s inferno. Years later, these would be painstakingly salvaged and restored. In the meantime, the brilliant prosecutor, Felice Casson, renowned for his giveaway crimson blush when stirred to passion, investigates allegations of arson and/or negligence.
The fire itself, witnessed by famed master glassmaker Archimede Seguso, is captured on vases and bowls in flickering, swirling colours of blue, green, yellow, orange.
Save Venice, a charity for the ultra-rich in America to raise money for the restoration of Venetian buildings and artefacts, has its own agendas, dilettante socialites and in-fighting, which Berendt follows with wry detachment.
Moving in privileged circles, Berendt meets members of the Curtis family, originally from Boston, but owners of the Palazzo Barbaro since 1885. Now, five generations later, they are forced to sell their beloved palace.
He uncovers the scandal associated with Ezra Pound’s literary legacy, which appears to have been hoodwinked from his mistress of 50 years, Olga Rudge, with whom Pound was living in Venice in his last years. She was paid $7 000 for assets worth millions.
Also woven into the tale of Venice is the story of Mario Stephani, a poet, who commits suicide, and the ensuing suspicions over his will. Add to these mysteries Massimo Donadon, the rat man, and Mario Moro, soldier, sailor, fireman, policeman, airman, vaporetto and conductor to mention some of his personae, and you get a sense of a narrative populated by fascinating characters, in a city famed for its romantic allure.
Ignoring the downsides of this undoubtedly bewitching city, Berendt (also the best-selling author of Midnight in the garden of Good and Evil) weaves a spell with this meticulously researched, affectionately recorded portrait of an aristocratic Venice and its residents. A beautiful book, marred only by numerous proof-reading errors and incorrect pagination of its contents page.


Afric McGlinchey
Reviewed in The Irish Examiner