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Venice: La Serenissima

$3,500 USD
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Spanning more than a millennium, this volume traces the enduring life of a city shaped by water, power, and imagination. Venice: La Serenissima presents an expansive portrait of one of the world’s most extraordinary cities, revealing Venice as a place where history, culture, architecture, and sp...
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Alberto Toso Fei is a Venetian writer, journalist, and historian widely regarded as one of the most authoritative contemporary voices on Venice’s history and legends. Descended from a family of Murano glassmakers documented in the city since the fourteenth century, Toso Fei has authored more than thirty books (translated into several languages) and regularly collaborates with cultural institutions and media outlets. He is also a consultant and documentary producer for television and a frequent speaker at public lectures and international events (including TEDx) dedicated to Venetian history and storytelling.

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Special Editions

Venice: La Serenissima (Pigne Edition)

$3,500

Venice. To visit is to be strongly jostled between fantasy and very real architectural splendor.

— Peter Marino, American Architect
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Page count

248 pages

Number of illustrations

179

Language

English

Released on

April 2026

Dimensions

W 19 x L 19 x D 4 in

Cover materials

The hand-fabricated Italian clamshell is made from Fortuny metallic materials, lined in burgundy silk over wooden slats, and adorned with a copper title plaque and hand-painted plaster medallion of the Lion of Venice. The hardcover features a detail of Paolo Veronese's Triumph of Mordecai (1556), from the ceiling of Venice's Church of San Sebastiano.

ISBN

9781649806833

Weight

25.35 lb

Author

Alberto Toso Fei, Foreword by Peter Marino

Our commitment to sustainability

Assouline supports One Tree Planted in its commitment to a more sustainable world through reforestation. Since 2019, this partnership has contributed to global efforts to restore forests, with the long-term vision of creating a sustainable cycle by sourcing paper from the trees planted. Our dedication to craftsmanship extends beyond the books themselves—today, our titles are printed on paper selected with the environment in mind, supporting the shift toward more responsible materials. With the belief that beauty stands not just in how it looks, but in how it’s made.

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Iconic Details:

Fortuny Fabric

The clamshell is crafted with opulent metallic fabrics from the legendary Venetian textile house Fortuny and lined in rich burgundy silk. Constructed from wooden slats, the case subtly references Venice itself, whose historic buildings rest upon deep wooden foundations driven into the lagoon. 

Hand Numbered

Limited to just 200 copies worldwide, the Special Edition is hand numbered and presented in two distinct colorways: 100 in Fortuny’s “Richelieu” indigo blue and gold fabric and 100 in the “Pigne” ironweed and silvery gold design, making each volume a rare collector’s piece. 

Hardcover

Within the clamshell, the hardcover inside showcases a detail from Triumph of Mordechai (1556) by Paolo Veronese, painted on the ceiling of Venice’s Church of San Sebastiano, bringing a masterpiece of Venetian art to the cover. 

Medallion

A three-dimensional hand-painted medallion depicts the Lion of Venice, the enduring symbol of the Venetian Republic. The design is inspired by a sculpture from Assouline co-founder Martine Assouline’s personal art collection, transforming the case into a sculptural object in its own right. 
Savoir-Faire

Venice, La Serenissima

In this episode of the Culture Lounge podcast, we introduce Savoir-Faire, a new series devoted to the rarest of arts: knowing exactly what to do, and doing it with intention. To open the series, Alex Assouline sits down with Martine and Prosper Assouline around a title that is, in every sense, a masterwork: Venice: La Serenissima. A portrait of the world's most alluring city, and an object worthy of it.

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