Venice of the sixth century, when lagoon-dwellers lived "like sea-birds" in huts built on heaps of osiers, was the city of the Doges, where people were inspired by the glories of Byzantium as they built it. Thirteenth century Venice was a world power holding "the gorgeous East in fee" and 15th and 16th century Venice was the city where Titian and Tintoretto and Veronese were at work. Venice of the 18th century was a city for revellers and in the 19th century it was a city for art lovers - each of these periods in its history is portrayed as its inhabitants and visitors saw it, through their eyes and in their voices. John Julius Norwich, in this latest of the "Travellers" Companion" series, has produced an anthology from the writings of James, Disraeli, Mark Twain and John Evelyn, among many others. This book may provide the tourist or armchair traveller alike with a flavour of the spirit of Venice.