The Politics of Washing: Real Life in Venice

By Polly Coles and E.J. Koh

This is the story of ordinary life in an extraordinary place. The beautiful city of Venice has been a fantasy land for people from around the globe for centuries, but what is it like to live there? To move house by boat, to get a child with a broken leg to hospital or set off for school one morning only to find that the streets have become rivers and the playground is a lake full of sewage? When Polly Coles and her family left England for Venice, they discovered a city caught between modern and ancient life - where the locals still go on an annual pilgrimage to give thanks for the end of the Black Death; where schools are housed in renaissance palaces and your new washing machine can only be delivered on foot. This is a city perilously under siege from tourism, but its people refuse to give it up - indeed, they love it with a passion. The Politics of Washing is a fascinating window into the world of ordinary Venetians and the strange and unique place they call home.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0719808782
• ISBN13: 9780719808784
• Release Date: March 2013
• Publisher: Robert Hale & Company
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 8.3"