The orchid is the most evocative of flowers, inspiring in some of its admirers a fanaticism akin to madness, as demonstrated in Susan Orlean's popular novel The Orchid Thief. This elegant survey of the orchid treats its place in legend and suggests the impact that these exotic plants had on the temperate European mind. Berliocchi chronicles the adventurers and scientists who introduced these marvels, discusses their place in the arts from literature and magic to cuisine, and concludes with accounts of the most important genera and their cultivation. Splendidly illustrated with period...

-The book marks the 500th anniversary of the creation of the Venice Ghetto -Accompanies a large exhibition currently taking place in Venice at the Palazzo Ducale -Relevant for social and urban historians, as well as all those who are interested in the history of Venice, and Jewish history -Dontatella Calabi will be promoting his book at the 'Beyond the Ghetto' symposium in New York, hosted by the Center for Jewish History, on 18-19 September 2016. 500 years ago in Venice, the first ghetto was born. It was the first of many 'Jewish enclosures' ordained by political powers, such as the Venetian...