Silver IPPY Award for Best Adult Fiction EBook
Finalist for the 2014 National Indie Excellence Award
Shortlisted for the da Vinci Eye Prize
Category finalist for the Eric Hoffer Award


From the author of Made in Italy comes a tale of artisanal tradition and family bonds set in one of the world's most magnificent settings: Renaissance Venice.


When Luca Vianello, the heir to a renowned gondola-making enterprise, experiences an unexpected tragedy in the boatyard, he believes that his destiny lies elsewhere. Soon he finds himself drawn to restore an antique gondola with the dream of taking a girl for a ride. Lovers of historical fiction will appreciate the authentic details of gondola craftsmanship, along with an intimate first-person narrative set against the richly textured backdrop of 16th-century Venice.





"I'm a big fan of Venice, so I appreciate Laura Morelli's special knowledge of the city, the period, and the process of gondola-making. An especially compelling story."


— Frances Mayes, author, Under the Tuscan Sun


"Sixteenth-century Venice is the star of Laura Morelli's well-crafted historical novel about the heir to the city's most renowned gondola builder."


— Publishers Weekly Starred Review


"The heir to a gondola empire rejects his birthright in this fascinating glimpse into Renaissance Venice."


— Kirkus Indie Book of the Month


"Laura Morelli has done her research, or perhaps she was an Italian carpenter in another life. One can literally smell and feel the grain of finely turned wood in her hands."


— Pamela Sheldon Johns, author, Italian Food Artisans


"Laura Morelli's extensive research into 16th-century Venice and the art of gondola making brings history to the present."


— Foreword Reviews


"Romance, intrigue, family loyalty, pride and redemption set against the backdrop of Renaissance Italy."


— Library of Clean Reads


"Historical fiction at its best."


— Midwest Book Review