An insight into the glory that is Venice.

Having visited Venice for the first time in May 2004, I wish this BBC programme (and the subsequent DVD) had been available to me then. It would have given me a wonderful insight into a city which I have grown to love over the last three years. My partner and I returned to Venice in 2005 and we will be going again next week. Francesco da Mosta's easy going nature and natural charm can't help but make you fall in love with a city that his ancestors have known for generations. The programme provides historical information and local colour - it is a DVD that I have returned to twice in the weeks leading up to our latest Venetian visit. It is also a DVD I intend to buy. I recommend it to all who are going for the first time or those who are revisiting La Serenissima.

Sadly, since I wrote this review, my partner has died. Despite changeable weather at the time, we enjoyed our third visit to Venice. I hope to be able to go there again, when my grief has subsided. However, my memories, and the countless photographs, will always remain with me... Above all, as our last foreign holiday together, I'll remember it as a happy time for both of us.