Examines the way in which Venice's unusual topography has influenced the form & type of the city's buildings. The text looks at the city's most important monuments such as the Rialto Bridge & the Basilica of San Marco discusses important building types such as churches & palaces & also looks at the urban fabric of the middle-class & working-class districts of the city. The buildings are set in their historical context & the text is illustrated with photographs & paintings & prints by some of the artists who have recorded the canals & building of Venice from Carpaccio & Bellini to Ruskin.