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Bestselling author Andrea di Robilant talks about his latest book, Chasing the Rose: An Adventure in the Venetian Countryside, a charming tale about his search for the identity of a mysterious old rose and a contemplation on the enduring beauty of the rose and on those who are fascinated by them. His journey took him back to the time of Josephine Bonaparte and to some of the most delightful rose gardens in Italy today. The search grew out of his biography of his distant ancestor, the Venetian lady Lucia Mocenigo, in which he described a pink rose growing wild on the family’s former country estate. It led rose experts to question whether it could be a long-lost China variety of rose cultivated in the 19th century.

Di Robilant was born in Italy and educated at Columbia University. He is author of two other books, A Venetian Affair and Lucia: A Venetian Life in the Age of Napoleon. Here he talks to Polly Coles, author of The Politics of Washing: Real Life in Venice.

This event is part of Italian Day at the festival.

Sponsored by Floris.