Thomas Mann is a German essayist and novelist , a Nobel Prize winner and a distinguished anti- fascist personality. In the early 20th century he travelled to Venice, stayed at the Lido and probably saw a boy wearing a sailor suit who caught his attention. In 1912 he wrote his brilliant short story about the ageing widowed scholar, professor Gustav von Aschenbach ( inspired by Mahler?) who finds the definition of beauty in a Polish teenage boy as they were both staying at the Hotel des Bains. Like Mann, von Aschenbach is a heterosexual, but he feels strongly attracted to Tadzio , who becomes an obsession, his vision of a doomed Greek god. He dares not speak to the boy, he worships him from a distance, and chooses to stay in the city even after he is warned about the plague epidemic which will kill him. Der Tod in Venedig ( Death in Venice) explores the connection between Eros (love) and Thanatos (decay and death) through von Aschenbach’s midlife crisis and infatuation with a stranger. It is a remarkable story, which requires a deep reading through its multiple layers ( typical Thomas Mann style) , artistic references and symbolism, the essence of the eternal struggle between the passions of nature and the restraints of rational man. Some critics have wrongly reduced it to a gay book, which is not true, there’s much more in this novella than just the homosexuality Gustav von Aschenbach may have found late in life.

Luchino Visconti directed Death in Venice in 1971, with Dirk Bogarde playing von Aschenbach and Bjorn Andresen as Tadzio. Sparse dialogue, Mahler’s Adagietto from Symphony no 5, so haunting it seems to have been composed for this film, and Venice, la Serenissima, an image of beauty but also of decay, the city playing a metaphor for lost youth, love for sheer beauty and death wish as Freud recognized it, within pleasure principle.

There are many reasons to visit Venice, but whatever brings you to the city don’t miss a visit to Harry’s bar, right on the San Marco’s bay waterfront. Harry’s opened in 1931 and has become famous for its atmosphere, the celebrities, a drink and a dish. The drink is a cocktail, named Bellini ( one third fresh peach juice, two thirds chilled Prosecco sparkling wine) after Giovanni Bellini, a Venetian painter of the 15th century, and the dish is Carpaccio of beef, invented for a customer on a diet free of cooked meat and also named after a Venetian painter, Vittore Carpaccio, known for his love of deep reds. Harry’s is not just a tourist trap as it has been called, the fact the staff have been there for decades, the atmosphere is stylish but comfortable and the food is Italian classic attract a crowd of habitués.

Thomas Mann is an author to (re)discover, not only Death in Venice but also the “big books” like Buddenbrooks and Der Zauberberg ( The Magic Mountain), Visconti is one of the greatest film directors , Harry’s bar is a Venetian institution and the Hotel des Bains is the ultimate Belle Époque resort, with its private park and beach, a secluded world that will take you straight back to a hundred years ago, the perfect place to relax and read as you enjoy your vacation.