Around Junior year of High School I discovered a book called The City of Masks by Mary Hoffman. It was one of the many books in a series called Stravaganza. Hoffman has created an alternate universe which mirrors the country of Italy. In Talia gold is silver and a hero is always needed. The city of Bellezza is a mirrored Venice governed by a powerful and clever Duchessa. Remora is an alternate Siena with sections dedicated to the Stellata, a race with a jockey representing each constellation in the zodiac. Giglia is Talia's Florence and contains a labyrinth in a monestary called Saint Mary among the Vines. Padavia, the twin of Padua houses the Scriptorium, the renaissance printing press, forbidden to publish certain scientific texts. All this and a brush of Talian politics opens the realm into City of Ships. This new novel takes place in Classe, the Talian Ravenna with a new protagonist named Isabel. Hoffman's series is filled with imagination as adventure and mirrored historical details unfold in the world of Talia. The author's writing inspires me to create a world of my own.
For more information, here's the official website for the Stravagante:
Stravaganza
