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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How did the panel of experts come to its initial conclusion that the Fenice fire was not caused by arson?

2. What sport is Casson passionate about?

3. What is "Antica Mole"?

4. What does the glass historian Rosa Barovier tell the narrator about the Segusos?

5. Where does the Count Giuseppe Volpi live?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain what Guerrino Lovato tells the narrator about the interior of the Fenice.

2. What does the narrator say about Venice at the beginning of Chapter 2?

3. What does Count Marcello tell the narrator during the prologue?

4. What does Peter say to the narrator about "sloganeering"?

5. Explain Rose Lauritzen's problems with the "magazzino" as detailed in Chapter 3.

6. Who is Peter Lauritzen and how has he established himself in Venice?

7. Paraphrase what Alvise Loredan tells the narrator at the Carnival ball in Chapter 6.

8. How does Archimede Seguso react to the fire?

9. What is the pigeon problem in Venice and how is it being dealt with?

10. What examples does the narrator give for the public outpouring of support after the fire at the Fenice?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the controversy surrounding Mario Stefani's death and how this controversy relates to the book's overall theme of truth and deception.

Essay Topic 2

Using Daniel and Patricia Curtis as examples, illustrate the novel's theme of the need to hang on to the past, and explain how this theme comes up within other stories in the book as well.

Essay Topic 3

Using the Lauritzens "magazzino" as an example, explain the differences between the Venetian and Anglo-Saxon mentalities as described in Chapter 3.

(see the answer keys)

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