Chapter 2, "Dust & Ashes" Summary

John Berendt is narrating the events that come to pass as he arrives in Venice a mere three days after the Fenice fire. He arrives by water taxi, as he usually does when he visits Venice, and he acknowledges the beauty of Venice. This is not Berendt's first visit to Venice, as he has been to Venice "a dozen times or more". Berendt navigates the reader through his eyes while on his water taxi ride through the canal. He elects to visit Venice during the mid-winter break because it is no longer tourist season and he can enjoy the city without the annoying bustling of the tourists. He realizes, however, that he arrives in Venice at a most interesting time due to the fire at the Fenice opera house.

Berendt is quickly taken in by the...