Summary

Wine Stains: Venice, 1609

An alcoholic Catholic priest, Giovanni Domenico Vistorini barely makes it through conducting Mass. Afterwards, he drinks some unconsecrated Communion wine, then thinks about the long morning before him where he will serve as part of the Ten, making Inquisition decisions as official censor on any books that contained anything against the Catholic faith, as well as any Jewish or Saracen books. Giovanni is himself a scholar, a lover of books, and a lover of beauty.

As Giovanni heads into the city, he says hello to some while saying silent prayers for the unfortunate along the way, as well as dropping a coin to a beggar. Giovanni thinks about his work, such as the book he currently studies – a Jewish volume that criticizes Catholics for their belief in Jesus Christ. Such writers are usually fined, sometimes imprisoned, and...