Serenissima: Venice in Winter
Photographs by Frank Van Riper and Judith Goodman
Text by Frank Van Riper

One of life’s subtlest acquired pleasures is the Venice of winter, of mists and puddles, umbrellas and empty alleys and gondolas in the rain. This book magically acquires the pleasure for us—and no less miraculously—enables us to enjoy it all the year round.

—Jan Morris
author, The World of Venice; fellow of the Royal Society of Literature

Serenissima: Venice in Winter takes us on the rare journey that a perfect book can and unravels the secrets of a very personal walk through the streets, canals, and homes of Venice. Frank Van Riper and Judith Goodman take their cameras into those places which most tourists would never think of: small bars, dancing clubs, and homes of people who see Venice, not as a tourist destination, but as their front, and back, yards. It is a wonderful journey, graced by the evocative images and taken one step further by Van Riper’s insightful text.

The pictures are lyrical and just downright fun….This book is a rare combination of pictures that take you there, and prose that lets you feel as if you’re watching it all from the corner of a small Venetian coffee bar, espresso in hand, ever glancing out the windows.

—David Burnett
photojournalist, Contact Press Images

Squisito! Frank Van Riper’s and Judith Goodman’s photographs penetrate the chill of the lagoon winter, gently unveiling the warmth of the Venetian soul. Invernal light subtly permeates each image, stoking the hearth of memory for Venetian aficionados and kindling the curiosity of armchair travelers. Bravo.

—Eric Denker
author, Whistler And His Circle in Venice, former curator of prints and drawings,
Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

The images are unpretentious and elegant, by turns capturing intimate human moments—a gondolier steers a newlywed couple to their destination—and scenic vistas, showing scenes of deserted piazzas or aerial views of bustling waterways. Van Riper’s engaging essays weave through the pages [and] are worth the readers time, for they are eloquently written, lively and humorous, and they fill in the history of this remarkable town with warmth, personal anecdotes and factual insights.

—Rachel Seed
The Picture Professional

“We showed the pictures from the book to a group of serious photographers in Venice, [Van Riper] said. “And they said something that just meant a great deal to us, particularly coming from native Venetians. After carefully looking at every picture, they told us, ‘you have captured our city.’ That’s just about the highest praise I can think of.”

—Interview with Frank Van Riper by Teresa Gionis,
The Northwest Current, Washington, DC