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Revised second edition, 2024

Hardback – 135 x 195 mm – 192 pages

148 colour illustrations

ISBN 9781843682288

After a good dinner one evening, with excellent company and a bottle of wine, I settled by my fire with a volume of paintings by the 15th century Venetian painter Vittore Carpaccio. For much of my life I have been under the spell of this artist. I am no connoisseur, cultural scholar or art historian. I know nothing about painterly techniques, chromatic gradations or artistic affinities, and my infatuation with him is largely affectionate fancy. I feel I know him personally, and I often sense that I am directly in touch with him across the centuries, across the continents, as one might be in touch with a living friend...

So starts Jan Morris’s Ciao, Carpaccio!, a genial, witty and touching journey through the endlessly evocative art of Carpaccio. Saluting the painter whose pictures remain some of the most enchanting ever made of Venice, Jan Morris makes her own last journey to a city she has written about like no other. Richly illustrated with complete paintings and eye-catching details, this book is a fitting swansong by a great writer to her favourite painter.

Morris tackles [the subject] with charm and gusto, infusing this amuse-bouche with vivid examples of the artist’s often overlooked eye for detail … We are reminded, quite elegantly, that there is more to Carpaccio than just thin slices of raw beef, some arugula and a drizzle of sauce
William D. Cohan, New York Times Book Review

[H]er enthusiasm is unrivaled and the book will surely delight her many fans
Publishers Weekly

‘Ciao, Carpaccio!’ is sheer enchantment!
John Julius Norwich

One last time to Venice
Michael Prodger interview in New Statesman

This gem of a book will entrance equally lovers of and strangers to this marvellous and elusive artist
Salley Vickers, Country Life