Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in Italy, Venice in particular? This book will give you a taste of that experience. You see, in Italy, each area has its own unique little quirks, which is what makes that country one of the most wonderful to visit. John Berendt takes you on his stay and his experiences there in this first released book from 2005.

The title comes from a real danger when you visit Venice – the fact that because of the rise of the sea, many things are slowly being destroyed and parts of the buildings and statues like to fall off. It is something that I witnessed while they’re in St. Mark’s square and thankfully I wasn’t beneath it when it landed. That was back in the 701′s and it hasn’t gotten any better – actually very little has changed – which is so typically Italian, Venetian to be sure. It was a sign to be seen in Venice when I was there, “Beware of Falling Angels” outside the church Santa Maria della Salute Church (book reminded me of the name of the church).

The story starts off with the fire of the Fenice Opera House, January 29, 1996. It continues on with a cast of characters that he meets and he entwines all their stories into a wonderful world where streets that you think are straight are anything but – just like many of the people that live there. It is somewhat like a travel log, but along the way you also get to learn of his experiences as he meets the many people that live there, their view of things that are happening. The famous known to the world and those that is famous and known by those that live in Venice.

You meet prosecutors, poets, painters, the recluses, those that are considered to be the ‘society’ and those that are not but would like to be. Politicians, mention of the mafia, glassblowers, the carbiniere as well as the local police, fire department, and a hint of the slow process it is to get anything done it a city that needs so much to have been done years ago. I even found out that the city that I used to live in, Vicenza helped in the rebuilding of the Fenice, as workers from there helped with the woodworking.

For those that have been, reading the book is like a visit back there. For those that want to go, it is like a sneak peek at a world that you only get to know if you take the time to get to know those that live in the strange world that floats on the water, where if you are allowed within their world, you too would be able to experience the story of the moment that is within the city that has given us Casanova, a one time ruler of the maritime world, the place that enchants many a writer and painter and is an integral part of those that make that wonderland their home.