Taking the fire that destroyed the Fenice theatre in 1996 as his starting point, John Berendt creates a portrait of Venice and its extraordinary inhabitants Beneath the exquisite facade of the world's most beautiful historic city, scandal, corruption and venality are rampant, and John Berendt is a master at seeking them out It is the inhabitants of Venice who are the real stars of this story Ezra Pound and his mistress, Olga poet Mario Stefani the Rat Man of Treviso or Mario Moro self-styled carabiniere, fireman, soldier or airman, depending on the day of the week