But when the artist dismisses her without payment, Luciana impulsively steals an unfinished version of the painting--only to find that somone is ready to kill her to get it back. Fleeing venice together, luciana and Guido race through the nine cities of Renaissance Italy, pursued by ruthless foes who are determined to keep them from decoding the painting's secrets.
Gloriously fresh and vivid, the Botticelli Secret is an irresistible blend of history, wit, with a deliciously irreverent heroine, and suspense. What could possibly be so valuable about the picture? As friends and clients are slaughtered around her, Luciana turns to the one man who has never desired her beauty, novice librarian Brother Guido.
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The Glassblower of Murano
In the present day his descendant, Leonora Manin, leaves an unhappy life in London to begin a new one as a glassblower in Venice. Venice, 1681. Glassblowing is the lifeblood of the Republic, and Venetian mirrors are more precious than gold. Jealously guarded by the murderous Council of Ten, the glassblowers of Murano are virtually imprisoned on their island in the lagoon.
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The Daughter of Siena: A Novel
. But the beauty and pageantry masks the deadly rivalry that exists among the city's districts. Amid the intrigue and danger of 18th-century Italy, a young woman becomes embroiled in romance and treachery with a rider in the Palio, the breathtaking horse race set in Siena. It's 1729, a white-knuckle horse race, and the Palio, is soon to be held in the heart of the peerless Tuscan city of Siena.
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The Venetian Bargain
What annibale had not counted on was meeting Feyra, who is now under Palladio's protection—an impossible woman whose medical skills and determination are matched only by his own. From marina fiorato, author of the acclaimed historical novel The Glassblower of Murano, comes a triumphant return to historical Venice with Venetian Bargain.
Only her wits and medical knowledge keep her alive as the plague ravages Venice. In despair, the doge commissions the architect Andrea Palladio to build the greatest church of his career—an offering to God so magnificent that Venice will be saved. He brings a gift to Venice from Constantinople. A man, more dead than alive, disembarks and staggers into Piazza San Marco.
But palladio's life is in danger too, and it will require all the skills of Annibale Cason, the city's finest plague doctor, to keep him alive.
The Gondola Maker: A Novel of 16th-Century Venice Venetian Artisans Book 2
Venetian gondola-maker Luca Vianello considers his whole life arranged. Lovers of historical fiction will appreciate the authentic details of gondola craftsmanship, along with an intimate first-person narrative set against the richly textured backdrop of 16th-century Venice. A venetian page-turner"i'm a big fan of Venice, the period, so I appreciate Laura Morelli's special knowledge of the city, and the process of gondola-making.
One can literally smell and feel the grain of finely turned wood in her hands. Pamela sheldon johns, pride, author of Italian Food Artisans"Romance, intrigue, family loyalty, and redemption set against the backdrop of Renaissance Italy. Library of clean reads"Beautiful, the place, powerful evocation of the characters, and the time.
But when luca experiences an unexpected tragedy in the boatyard, he believes that his destiny lies elsewhere. The gondola maker brings the centuries-old art of gondola-making to life in the tale of a young man's complicated relationship with his master-craftsman father.
The Painter's Apprentice: A Novel of 16th-Century Venice Venetian Artisans Book 1
But the encroaching black death foils her plans…when the painter’s servants uncover the real reason why Maria has been sent away to train with Master Trevisan, they threaten to reveal a secret that could tear down her family and the future of their trade. She questions whether her heart’s desire is worth risking her family, but maria’s sacrifices may amount to nothing if the plague arrives on her father’s doorstep and steals away everything she’s ever loved…From the author of the award-winning The Gondola Maker comes a rich tale of Renaissance Venice, a heroine with a lust for life, her trade, and her future, and love against all odds.
Buy the painter’s apprentice today to transport yourself to the vibrant and dangerous world of 16th-century Venice…. She is forced to buy the servants’ silence, but as their greed steadily grows, Maria resorts to more desperate measures. Instead, her father has sent her away from the only home she’s ever known to train as an apprentice to Master Trevisan, a renowned painter.
Maria arranges to leave the painter’s workshop to return to her family workshop and to a secret lover waiting for her back home.
The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence: A Story of Botticelli
Alyssa palombo’s the most beautiful Woman in Florence vividly captures the dangerous allure of the artist and muse bond with candor and unforgettable passion. The men of florence—most notably the rakish Giuliano de’ Medici—become enthralled with her beauty. Marco is young, handsome and well-educated.
Not to mention he is one of the powerful Medici family’s favored circle. In the tradition of tracy chevalier’s girl with a pearl Earring, artist Sandro Botticelli, Palombo has married fine art with romantic historical fiction in this lush and sensual interpretation of Medici Florence, and the muse that inspired them all.
Booklista girl as beautiful as simonetta Cattaneo never wants for marriage proposals in 15th Century Italy, but she jumps at the chance to marry Marco Vespucci. That she is educated and an ardent reader of poetry makes her more desirable and fashionable still. Botticelli immediately invites Simonetta, newly proclaimed the most beautiful woman in Florence, to pose for him.
But it is her acquaintance with a young painter, Sandro Botticelli, which strikes her heart most.
Beatrice and Benedick
Hidden in the language of shakespeare's best-loved comedy Much Ado About Nothing are several clues to an intriguing tale. But the pair are cruelly parted by misunderstanding and slander. While benedick must fight for his life on board ship, Beatrice fights for her freedom from an arranged marriage. From the point of view of beatrice and benedick we hear the lovers tell their own story, to the crippled Armada on the frozen northern seas, taking us from the sunlit southern courts of Sicily, to the gorgeous Renaissance cities of the north.
It seems that the witty lovers Beatrice and Benedick had a previous love affair that ended bitterly. Heartbroken, benedick sails to England on the ill-fated Spanish Armada. Beatrice returns to her home in the North and an unwanted betrothal.
The Violinist of Venice: A Story of Vivaldi
Like most 18th century venetians, Adriana d'Amato adores music—except her strict merchant father has forbidden her to cultivate her gift for the violin. They both know their affair will end upon Adriana's marriage, but she cannot anticipate the events that will force Vivaldi to choose between her and his music.
. The repercussions of his choice—and of Adriana's own choices—will haunt both of their lives in ways they never imagined. Spanning more than 30 years of adriana's life, music, ambition, Alyssa Palombo's The Violinist of Venice is a story of passion, and finding the strength to both fall in love and to carry on when it ends.
But she refuses to let that stop her from living her dreams and begins sneaking out of her family's palazzo under the cover of night to take violin lessons from virtuoso violinist and composer Antonio Vivaldi.
The Birth of Venus: A Novel Reader's Circle
A child of the renaissance, with a precocious mind and a talent for drawing, Alessandra is intoxicated by the painter’s abilities. But their burgeoning relationship is interrupted when Alessandra’s parents arrange her marriage to a wealthy, much older man. Played out against this turbulent backdrop, Alessandra’s married life is a misery, except for the surprising freedom it allows her to pursue her powerful attraction to the young painter and his art.
The birth of venus is a tour de force, the first historical novel from one of Britain’s most innovative writers of literary suspense. Alessandra and her native city are caught between the Medici state, with its love of luxury, learning, and dazzling art, and the hellfire preaching and increasing violence of Savonarola’s reactionary followers.
It brings alive the history of florence at its most dramatic period, telling a compulsively absorbing story of love, art, and power through the passionate voice of Alessandra, religion, a heroine with the same vibrancy of spirit as her beloved city.