Timeless Venice

Dating from Europe's earliest days of printing, Jacopo de'Barbari's giant map of Venice is both an artistic and technological tour de force. Printed from six wood blocks, its detail is such that we can check features like windows, doorways, and chimney breasts to see many of today's best-known buildings as they originally looked. Above all, it shows the thoroughfares and alleys of the one great city that has, in five centuries, changed less than any other. This combined CD-ROM and book present vision, sound, and text in the first detailed comparison between Jacopo's map and modern color photos. The culmination of many years work, it will be a joy not only for lovers of Venice but for all drawn to the romance of history.