The Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich- A good read for a trip to Venice

 I wanted a book to read on a recent trip to Venice, and saw The Midwife of Venice in Sainsbury's. I wasn't sure whether I'd like it because it was set in 1575, but as Venice hasn't changed much over the centuries, it was interesting to identify the places that Roberta Rich mentioned. One of these was the Campo de Ghetto Novo where Jews were, amongst other things, locked up at night, and made to wear red hats during the day to distinguish them from Christians.
It is here that Hannah lived, working as a midwife whilst her husband, Isaac, set sail for Constantinople, hoping to make a fortune, only to be captured as a slave in Malta.
When Hannah is implored by a Christian count to deliver his wife's baby, she agrees and gets enough money to buy Isaac's freedom, but things turn out to be not that simple.
The story is set in Venice and Valetta, as the couple struggle to get back together. The characters and setting are well drawn, and I was gripped by the story, hoping to find out if they would be reunited.

In Venice, there is only one piazza: the Piazza San Marco. All the other less important squares are called campo which means field.
The word ghetto, comes from the Italian geto, meaning foundry, which used to occupy the site.

The fabulous thing about Venice is that you will not be disappointed, because it looks exactly as it does in the guide books and on films and TV.

However, it was difficult to find a novel about Venice - there are plenty about Tuscany!
Can you recommend a good one?

Summer's Lease in Tuscany

Happy Bank Holiday Monday! 
Summer's Lease by John Mortimer is one of my all time favourite books, and funnily enough, it's the only one of his books that I've ever read.
I read it because I had enjoyed the BBC television drama in 1989, starring John Gielgud and Leslie Phillips.
It's about a family of five, plus father-in-law, who rent a Tuscan villa for the summer, and who get embroiled in a murder. I don't usually like murder mysteries either, but I think I like this one because it's set in Italy, and I've read it again nearly every year since.

I'd always wanted to visit Siena where some of the action takes place in the book, and a few years ago my dream came true. We weren't able to go on the day of the actual Palio horse race around the shell shaped Piazza del Campo, but we were able to see the horses and riders being drawn. There were crowds of people, goodness knows what it's like on the race days of July 2nd and August 16th.

Have you read Summer's Lease?
Maybe you've been to the Palio?