Book Review: By Its Cover, a Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery by Donna Leon

Churches, libraries, museums, and residences find ancient, rare and valuable books, manuscripts, paintings, and statues disrespected or stolen. Merula gets the first edition of the second in Giovanni Battista Ramusio’s (July 20, 1485 – July 10, 1557) three-volume Delle Navigationi et Viaggi stolen and nine pages of drawings and maps taken from Hernán Cortés’ (1484 – December 2, 1547) Relación printed by Versellace in 1524 and translated by Niccolò Liburnio (1474 – September 22, 1557). It horrifies Guido to find at the perpetrator’s residence:

• 12 Merula books;
• 15 private collection books, of which 4 Marchese Piero Dolfin; and
• 23 library books, of which 2 Vicenza Public Library.

Is the thieving vandal a killer in four-year-old, 143-euro, size 43, waffle-soled boots? 

Guido judges pertinent:

• all crimes and sins arising through lies;
• Church Fathers such as Ambrose, Augustine, Cyprian, Jerome, Maximum the Confessor, and Tertullian berating greed and lust;  
• library security comprising electronic and human detectors;
• Merula drawing central, city, and regional money for operations and private contributions for acquisitions and restorations;
• patrons predictable for three months and three years atypically exiting before 2:30 p.m. on theft-discovery day; and
• a Sicilian prince’s widowed daughter furnishing much of the 200 manuscripts and 8,000 books in Merula’s 30,000-item collection ten years previously and 100,000 euros every year thereafter.

What keeps a Vicenza private boys’ school’s ex-theologian from pressing assault charges against his ex-lover’s ex-boyfriend? What leads Merula’s directress to compromise security? 

Means and opportunity make suspect:

• Filippo D’Alessio, English-, French-, German-, Greek-, Italian-, Spanish-speaking Neapolitan book/identity/postal thief;
• Roberto Durà, armed robbery assailant three months into four years at Treviso’s jail;
• Patrizia Fabbiani, directress;
• Aldo Franchini, 61-year-old receiving 1,300,000 euros in Lugano and Luxembourg accounts, 659-euro-a-month pension at Castello 333;
• Adele Marzi, Dolfin’s secretary at Castello 999;
• Contessa Morosini-Albani, antiques-stealing Gianni’s stepmother;
• Joseph Nickerson, Michigan-born 36-year-old University of Kansas-Lawrence’s maritime/Mediterranean trade historian;
• Piero Sartor, guard gambling Gratta e Vinci (Scratch and Win), librarian Manuela’s baby’s gender, 30,000 to 50,000 euros during 23 visits to Alvino’s casinò.

So By Its Cover nudges Venetian customs and landmarks through:

• Atlantic Monthly Press, publisher;
• Matthew Enderlin, designer;
• Donna Leon, author;
• Peter Zelei, photographer. 

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

In "By Its Cover," the rare first edition of Giovanni Ramusio's second volume of Delle Navigationi et Viaggi is vandalized.
Marco Polo Bridge, 9 miles (15 km) southwest of Cambalu (now Beijing) over Pulsangan (now Yongding) River; illustration in Giovanni Ramusio's narration of Marco Polo's voyages in Delle Navigationi et Viaggi, volume 2
G.B. Ramusio, Secundo volume delle navigationi et viaggi (1574), page 32: (nothing about copyright), via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/secundovolumedel00ramu/page/32/mode/1up

In "By Its Cover," Niccolò Liburnio's Latin translation of explorer Hernán Cortés’ historic New World account, Cartas de Relación, is vandalized.
woodcut of Temixtitan (Tenochtitlan, modern-day Mexico City) by Friedrich Peypus (1485-1534), from map by Hernán Cortés
Library of Congress Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection: Public Domain, via Library of Congress @ https://www.loc.gov/item/65059078/

Venice at night: Biblioteca Merula is located on Fondamenta da Zattere, the quay that runs along Venice's long southern shore in the island city's southwestern area, Dorsoduro.
Fondamenta da Zattere, Dorsoduro, southwestern Venice: Italo Greco (incooldj), CC BY 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/incooldj/8419903382/

Does an obsessive Gratta e Vinci (Scratch and Win) player become involved in high stakes vandalism of valuable antiquarian books?
Italy's Gratta e Vinci scratch-off lottery tickets: Claudio Cicali, CC BY SA 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/enebish/468292383/

Biblioteca Merula, scene of theft and vandalism of some of its rarest books, is set on Fundamenta delle Zattere (Zattere Quay), which stretches along almost entire length of Canale della Giudecca, one of Venice's major canals.
Canale della Giudecca; Fondamenta delle Zattere, Dorsoduro, southwestern Venice: Janericloebe, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Venezia_Dorsoduro_Panorama_001.JPG

Leon, Donna. 1 April 2014. By Its Cover. A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery. New York, NY: Atlantic Monthly Press. 

Ramusio, Giovanni Battista. 1574. Venezia: Giunti. Secundo Volume Delle Navigationi et Viaggi.

• Available via Internet Archive at: https://archive.org/stream/secundovolumedel00ramu#