This work explores the region's world-renowned beauty, both man-made and natural. It gazes up at the awesome peaks of the Dolomites and across the lush flatlands of the southern Veneto scattered with Palladian villas; lazes by the idyllic east shore of Lake Garda and surveys the volcanic clusters of the Po; visits the medieval castles of Trento, the World Heritage city of Vicenza and cosmopolitan Trieste; and indulges in the romance of Venice, the dreamy city of canals and gondolas. 'If you seek solitude and romance with a capital R, go to Venice in January. Pack a warm coat, water-resistant shoes and an umbrella, and expect frequent fog and mists. It may even snow - in 1987 you could even ski jump down the Rialto bridge. But there are plenty of radiant diamond days, brilliant, sunny, and chilly...'