When retired bond lawyer Dial Parrott talks about Venice, people love to listen.

The former partner and senior bond counsel at Updike, Kelly & Spellacy in Hartford fell in love with the Italian city when he was on his honeymoon in 1982. After traveling there about 12 times, he wrote a non-fiction book, The Genius of Venice: Piazza San Marco and the Making of the Republic, which came out in September.