Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #572 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-06-19
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
• Formats: PAL, Subtitled
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 235 minutes

DVD Description
A breathtaking journey through the ages, telling the story of one of the world's most famous and beautiful cities. This lavish, landmark series explores how a place with no firm ground, no crops, no indigenous riches and no land army came to snatch success from the jaws of failure time and time again - right up to the present day. Step back in time to early Venice, recreated by the magic of CGI. See wooden houses on stilts replaced by the daring rebuild in stone and brick.

Witness the sacking of Constantinople and the Venice of Casanova, Napoleon, Byron and Mussolini. The stunning recreations and dramatisations in each episode are enriched by insights from charismatic aristocrat, architect and historian Francesco da Mosto. His family has lived in Venice for over a thousand years and, far from having that sinking feeling, he believes passionately in the future of this miraculous city...

Synopsis
Presented by Francesco da Mosta, architect, historian and filmmaker. Profiles the history and secrets of Venice from its establishment in the fifth century through the strong republican times to the modern day. Features dramatised re-enactments, a tour of the city and look at what the future could be for the city now that the sea levels are rising.

Customer Reviews

Francesco's Venice
These DVDs are a must for anyone plannng to visit Venice. They would form a basis of interest and direction for anyone's first visit. There is a historical thread from beginning to end starting with the birth of Venice and finishing with a dicussion on how Venice will fair in the future. The main historical figures are mentioned, the artists, architectects, sculptures, musicians etc and how they fitted into the fabric of Venice. This is not a stuffy historical guide, instead Da Mosto has laced the narrative with anecdotes and interesting stories, with gossip and scandal. His love for his home and birth place is infectious.
The DVDs are well shot and Da Mosto's story is well illustrated.
It is difficult to imagine how these 4 programmes could have been improved because although details are occasionally a little scant I am sure that it was never the intention to make this the definitive guide to Venice.
Francesco's Venice is a general interest guide full of facts spontaneity and humour and certainly gives anyone with the slightest interest in Venice a good idea of what the place is all about.

Excellent storyteller
If you are going to visit Venice, spending 4 hours watching this DVD will save you a lot of time (and money) since he puts the city in context and shows some of the highlights to head for. He is a master storyteller, and delights in telling you how Venetians have struggled from one disaster to another, making some magnificent buildings in the process.

The Venice on the DVD is without the hordes of tourists, overpriced tourist restaurants, and cheesy tourist shops which cram into Venice today - you will see that for yourself when you get there.

A Truly Remarkable Landmark Series
If you have visited or are thinking of visiting this beautifull city then you must watch this spellbinding series narrated by that soft talking Venitian Francesco Da Mosto.

Each episode cronicles the development of the city from its earliest days to the city we see today.Everything is explained in intricate detail and highlited by movie like extracts to bring everthing to life.I just cannot remember seeing a series as comprehensive and well researched as this one.

If you pick up a travellers guide to Venice it will obviously miss out something of importance this series misses nothing,what you need to know about the cities history is given,it is so comprehensive you could write your own book from it.It is so good that a copy is on its way to friends in Italy who live only thirty minutes away by train from Venice.

Remember how you marvelled at David Attenboroughs incredible Life on Earth when it was first televised,your reaction will be just as great to watching this four part chronicle on Venice.

You obviously watched his very entertaining series shown recently titled Italy Top to Toe.If you think that was good his Venice is on another level alltogether.

What makes this series is that every part of Venice dates from a period in history when history was being made.The account of when Marco Polo returned home after over twenty years travelling the globe,his relatives didnot recognise him or believe his amazing stories,yet the very building he lived in still stands and has not changed in over five hundred years.

People visiting this gorgeous city willnot see museums full of Renaissance art,somthing you expect in Italys magnificent tourist hotspots.The reason behind this is that in the early part of the 19century Napoleon took the city under siege and committed an unprecedented act of vandalism vertually stripping the entire city of its magnificent art treasures,so much so that a large majority of Paris magnificent museum The Louvre is composed of Venitian art stolen by Napoleon.Attemps have been made to have many of the treasures returned to Venice but to no avail.

Many of the great museums are very reluctant to release works of art known to have been plundered centuries ago.The Elgin Marbles are a prime example of Britains British Museums refusal to return priceless artifacts illegally removed by imperialists in our distant past.

Another most impressive aspect of De Mostos tour of his home city is the regular clean up of the magnificent palaces and lesser buildings.Remarkably the canals are dammed up on a regular basis to allow the foundations of priceless buildings to be exposed thus allowing workmen to carry out vital repairs.The silting of the waterways is becoming a huge problem resulting in erosion at a much higher rate than during any period in the cities extensive history.

The love of his hometown has remarkably seen the closure of the massive industrial works on the outskirts of Venice.The industrial complex is barely thirty years old but because of its detrimental effect on the buildings a little way down the waterway it has been shut down completely.

This is the modern age trying to live alongside the medieval age.Usually progress dominates but Venice is unique and the Venitians want to keep it that way.

If Venice is renouned for its Renaissance splendor then the musicians associated with its past are equally well known.

The Accademy for girls where Antonio Vivaldi taught has little changed since his day.It was here that he drew inspiration for his timeless "Gloria" and no doubt put quill to paper in composing "Le Quattro Staggione" his stupendous Four Seasons.

Whilst Vivaldi taught at the Accademy another famous Venitian for totally differing reasons was having an affair with a sister from the Convent on one of the neighbouring islands.Decosomo Casanova every womans dream eventually died of sythullus like many Venitians of his time.The city was renouned for its immoral ways in the 18century.

On my visit to Venice in 2005 i stood on the very steps that he stood on but he was being incacerated in the Doge Palace which also saw service as a prison.Remarkably Cassanova escaped from his cell and continued his life of lust until his painfull death.

De Mostos analysis of Venice from its birth to the present must rank as one of the most impressive historical docummentries to have been aired on the BBC for some time.
Here is a man whose family can be traced back to over six centuries of Venitian history.His family is at present the oldest still residing in Venice,if he doesnot know the cities history then nobody does.

If you have an interest in Renaissance art or Italy in general look nowhere else THIS IS THE REFERENCE GUIDE TO A BEAUTIFULL CITY BUILT ON WATER- A GUIDE LIKE NO OTHER AND WRITTEN AND NARRATED BY FRANCESCO DA MOSTO A TRUE VENITIAN.