The Piazza San Marco in Venice is the most famous and instantly recognisable townscape in the world, visited by literally millions every year. This highly original book, an ideal companion to a visit, is the first to consider the square as a coherent whole, a dynamic open space organically connected to the buildings which frame it. It shows how much understanding is lost if this ensemble is divided (as histories and guide books conventionally do), into a series of individual structures (the Ducal Palace, the Basilica of St Mark, the Campanile etc.), each 'marvellous' in its own right but functionally separate. 'A beautifully produced, generously documented and lavishly illustrated volume, which is certain to become a basic reference for students of the city.' Theodore K. Rabb Times Literary Supplement