Inspiring Images for The Zorzi Affair
Jacopo de' Barbari's map of Venice, made in 1500. The map is nine feet wide, and so detailed that you can see exactly what each part of the city looked like in the early sixteenth century.
The Palazzo Zorzi Bon, in the Castello neighborhood, was built in the 13th or 14th centuries. I used it as the inspiration for Zaneta Lucia's house.
The majestic Palazzo Barbaro, on the Grand Canal just south of the Accademia Bridge, was the location of Zaneta Lucia's engagement party.
The Piazza delle Erbe, in Padua, is where I imagined Zaneta Lucia listening to Lucrezia Marinella's lecture.
The interior of the Scrovegni Chapel, painted by Giotto in the 14th century, inspired Galileo. Paolo also briefly plots to sneak into the chapel, certain the interior is filled with riches.
Galileo demonstrates his telescope for Venetian patricians. The spyglass was an instant sensation and transformed astronomy.