Death in a Serene City (1990) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit

Write a ridiculously simplified synopsis.

Characters/People edit see section history

• Don Marcantonio: Priest from San Gabriele
• Lapo Grossi: Gravedigger on San Michele
• Signora Maria Galuppi: prays to Santa Domenica in the Church of San Donato (who slayed a dragon by spitting on it). Mother of Carlo Galuppi, works as a laundress despite her advanced age
• Zia Caterina: Add a description of this character.
• Margaret Quintin: American writer who fell to her death from her bedroom window at the Casa Silviano
• Carlo Galuppi: Quasimodo of San Gabriele
• Dandolo: Margret Quintin's pet Pomeranian
• Clifford Voyd: Margaret Quintin's literary executor
• Urbino Macintyre: American biographer living in Venice
• Christian Kobke
• Stefano Bellorini: Artist
• Cavatorta: Ex-priest, now mask-maker in Cannaregio
• Adele Carstairs: Margaret Quintin's niece
• Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev: (1872-1929) Russian art critic, patron, ballet impresario and founder of Ballets Russes. Buried on San Michele
• Sister Veronica: Nun from the Convent of the Charity of Santa Crispina, who leads tours for the hospice
• The Patriarch: The Patriarch of Venice is the ordinary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice. The bishop is one of the few Patriarchs in the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church (currently five Latin sees, including the Diocese of Rome itself, are accorded the title of Patriarchate, together with Lisbon, the East Indies, and Jerusalem).
• Antonio Gramsci: Marxist who founded the Italian Communist Party

Quotes edit see section history

• “My dear Urbino, how much longer will you have to live before you realize that it isn't the things we do that cause the real sorrows of our life but the many, many things we don't?”

  Barbara, Contessa da Capo-Zendrini

• “...the ornate Basilica, with its onion domes, colored marble, mosaics, statues, arches, and porches, had all the splendors of a sultan reclining on his cushions, while the bell tower with its plain brick facade resembled a servant of the realm standing silently at attention.”

  Urbino Macintyre, admiring San Marcos

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Cannaregio: the northernmost of the six historic sestieri (districts) of Venice. Second largest sestiere by land area and largest by population
• San Michele: Isola di San Michele, island cemetery of Venice
• Church of San Gabriele: located in Cannaregio, enshrines Santa Teodora, stolen from her native Syracuse, Sicily in 1309
• Palazzo Uccello: Ancestral home of Urbino's mother's family

First Sentence edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• hagiography: Biography of a saint
• campanile: bell tower
• ragazza: young woman
• sacro furto: sacred theft
• Septuagesima: Ninth Sunday before Easter, the third before Ash Wednesday
• Acqua alta: "high water", the term used in Veneto for the exceptional tide peaks that occur in the northern Adriatic Sea. The prologue refers to the Acqua alta of November 4, 1966 (maximum high tide level 1.94m)
• pianterreno: ground floor
• venezianizzatto: "Venetianized"
• piano nobile: "noble floor", principal floor of a large house, usually built in one of the styles of classical renaissance architecture
• Biennale: Italian "every other year", most commonly used within the art world for contemporary art shows
• Des Esseintes: Novel by Joris-Karl Huysmans, about an eccentric recluse, that inspired Urbino
• Andron: Part of a Greek house reserved for men, as distinguished from the women's quarters. Social events with food and wine were held in the Andron.
• Moretta: Venetian Carnival mask, aka Servetta Muta "mute maid servant". A strapless oval mask with wide eyeholes, worn by patrician women. Held in place by biting on a button or bit, and finished off with a veil. Has not been widely worn since 1760. Always black

Series & Lists edit see section history

Followed by Farewell to the Flesh: An Urbino Macintyre Mystery.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Edward Sklepowich (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 813

Notes for Parents edit see section history

College/literary writing style

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Mystery & Thrillers › Mystery
• Books › Literature & Fiction