It's easy to forgive Venice for its eternal preoccupation with its own beauty. All the picture books in the world won't prepare you for the city's exotic landmarks, among them the Basilica di San Marco and the Palazzo Ducale, rising like mirages from the lagoon. With sumptuous palaces and romantic …
For centuries, glass blowers on the island of Murano have turned out those fantastic chandeliers that Victorian ladies used to prize so highly. They also produce heavily ornamented glasses so ruby red or so indigo blue that you can't tell whether you're drinking blackberry juice or pure-grain …
With water, water everywhere, Venice, Italy, is a small and entrancing city, said to have more great art and architecture per square inch than any other place in the world. Hot in July and August, its weather is generally mild through the rest of the year, though punctuated by thunder and …