Thomas Marks

Byron in Venice

He had a menagerie in his palazzo, swam up the Grand Canal, and had countless liaisons

issue 17 March 2018

‘I want to see Venice, and the Alps, and Parmesan cheeses.’ So wrote Lord Byron in 1814, some two years before he settled — if that is the word — in the lagoon city. Even after his arrival in the winter of 1816, Venice retained its fantastical allure: he identified with its decay (which he would still find today) and savoured its lack of tourists (which he would not).

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