Views of a Vanishing City
This captivating photo book, featuring nearly 200 sumptuous color images, showcases the fascinating, historical, and threatened doors unique to Venice, Italy.
This captivating photo book, featuring nearly 200 sumptuous color images, showcases the fascinating, historical, and threatened doors unique to Venice, Italy.

A visit to Venice, a city with no cars, allows you to envision yourself back in time several hundred years ago, with traces of the City of Canals' storied history on display wherever you look. However, the future of Venice is uncertain due to rising sea levels and overtourism. During a rare moment when tourism lulled due to the pandemic, photographer Greg Miller took advantage of the Venice's quiet streets to capture images that go beyond the expected views of the floating city.

Miller's long-exposure images focus on Venice's doors, uncovering the stories they reveal about the city's past residents and its vanishing culture. Readers can luxuriate in the intricate details of the centuries-old doors that are captured on these pages. From the quality of the wood, to the patinas and colors, to the antique hardware and ornate architectural components, the wonders of these portals to the past are on full display.

But, due to Venice's contemporary challenges, the doors themselves are under threat. As native Venetians leave the city and homes are rapidly purchased by corporate entities, these architectural gems risk being replaced or modified for cost-effective maintenance. This book serves as a visual preservation of these historical portals, providing a chance to appreciate their beauty and significance before they potentially disappear forever.