The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt

From the bestselling author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil comes a richly layered portrait of Venice — a city steeped in beauty, mystery, and intrigue. The City of Falling Angels opens with the 1996 fire that destroyed Venice’s iconic La Fenice opera house, and unfolds into a captivating investigation of the city's power struggles, eccentric residents, and artistic heart.
Blending true crime, travel writing, and literary storytelling, John Berendt takes readers behind the facades of Venice’s romantic image and into the lives of unforgettable real-life characters. A must-read for fans of nonfiction, European history, and atmospheric storytelling.
⭐️ Key Themes:
Art and architecture preservation
Local politics and corruption
The cultural soul of Venice
The clash between tradition and modernity
A cast of real-life characters stranger than fiction