"This book is set in Venice, it has two stories running side by side, I enjoyed reading the book as written, but various friends of mine have just read the present day part and skipped the story written in Italics.
It is about a retired teacher who goes to live in Venice for a period and how this changes her, she is changed by the relationships with people she meets along the way, and by the city itself. I read this book in 2001 and gave a copy to a friend. We both then visited Venice the following year and I have been many times since. I say it is the most expensive book I have ever bought because of the amount of times I have paid out to visit Venice."