Andrea di Robilant is a journalist and writer who divides his time between Rome and Venice. Born and raised in Italy, he studied history and politics at Columbia University and spent many years in the United States as a correspondent for the Italian dailies La Repubblica and La Stampa. He is the author of five books of non fiction: A Venetian Affair, a New York Times “notable book of the year” in 2003, set in eighteenth century Venice, and Lucia: A Venetian Life in the Age of Napoleon, a widely praised biography of the author’s ancestor, Lucia Mocenigo. A third book, Irresistible North, published in the UK as the Venetian Navigators, tells the story of Nicolò and Antonio Zen, two Venetian brothers who sailed to the North Atlantic at the end of the fourteenth century. Chasing the Rose, his fourth book, describes a meandering journey into the world of old roses. His latest book, Autumn in Venice, gives us the remarkable story of Ernest Hemingway’s love affair with both the city of Venice and the muse he found there – a vivacious eighteen year-old who inspired him to complete his final work. Di Robilant is currently at work on a book about the Venetian Renaissance.