NOVELIST

So, first things first - this is unlikely to be the exact building in which the Candlemas celebration is held, being merely an example of the ornate structures on the Grand Canal between Rialto and St. Marks Square.

It does, however, boast the kind of elegant frontage that Stornello's palazzo would have featured, and the private dock beneath the main building.

It's extraordinary to consider how the acqua alta, the high tide that hits the city two to three times each year, can push the water levels up  by up to two metres (for example, in 1240, it rose "by the height of a man").

This is the kind of residence aspired to by Uberto, who certainly has the wealth to procure such a home. But his political standing is such that he no longer enjoys the patronage required to make this a reality.