Book Description
An eye-opening look at the architectural mark fascism left on one of the world's most beloved cities R ome was Mussolini's obsession. After coming to power as a result of his famed march on the city in 1922, he promised Italians that his fascist revolution would unite them as never before and make Italy a major power on the world stage. In the next two decades, he set about rebuilding Rome as the foremost site and symbol of the new fascist order. Through an ambitious program of demolition and construction, he sought to make Rome a capital that both embraced modernity while preserving and glorifying the city's ancient past. Building the new Rome put people to work; 'liberated' ancient monuments from cluttered surroundings; cleared slums; produced giant complexes for education, sports, and cinema; produced wide new boulevards and piazzas; and provided the regime with a showcase in which to assert the power and identity of fascism. This intriguing book reveals Mussolini's tremendous and lasting impact on the city to which millions flock each year. MARKETING - Print Advertising Campaign - Academic Marketing Campaign'
Customer Reviews:
pretentious buildings.......2007-06-11
Rome. The Eternal City. Was there something in its water that Mussolini drank? Painter tells of his maniacal obsession with leaving his mark on this city. With such a storied history, he wanted to add his indelible contributions. So we get a grand tour of Rome. From the 1920s to the present. With black and white photos showing buildings added or altered. Several of which still remain to this day.
There is a comic opera feel to the sheer pretentiousness of Mussolini's activities. He comes off as a bumptious oaf, preferring shallow facades to the reality of a second rate economy.
Book Description
This is by much the most popular of Hall Caine's novels thus far, more than a million copies of have been sold in English editions only. It is intended to show that the morality which is required of individual men should govern nations also. The chief scene is Rome, and the Pope (a reverent portrait resembling Pius IX) is one of the leading characters.
The story which was first published in 1901, anticipated the Socialistic and Communistic movement, not only in Italy, but throughout Europe. A socialist leader of high character and capacity, David Rossi, makes an effort to carry into effect the teachings of Mazzini, which he understands to be according to the precepts of the Lord's Prayer. At the crisis of his endeavor he is betrayed into the hands of authorities by the woman he loves, who is moved solely by the desire to save his life.
The perils of the communistic and antimilitary movement as well as its spiritual ideals form the background of the story, but its main theme is love--the upraising of a woman's character under the influence of a pure affection. The love story is the strongest element in this greatly popular book.
Customer Reviews:
The Eternal City.......2007-09-22
Within the political City of Rome,the Venerable City of the Vatican, and the much smaller but even more powerful crucible of the human heart, the Twentieth Century makes its debut. This is a story of the heroic love of the woman, Roma, for Rossi, who is the people's hope for a new political order, for the end of tyranny under the threacherous thumb of a Baron who is without scruples, and of a humble Pope who struggles to find the Church's proper place in the new order of things. The Eternal City is brilliantly written, and deserves a place on every bookshelf.
Book Description
From humble beginnings, Rome became perhaps the greatest intercontinental power in the world. Why did this historic city become so much more influential than its neighbor, nearby Latium, which was peopled by more or less the same stock? Over the years, historians, political analysts, and sociologists have discussed this question ad infinitum, without considering one underlying factor that led to the rise of Rome--the geology now hidden by the modern city.
This book demonstrates the important link between the history of Rome and its geologic setting in a lively, fact-filled narrative sure to interest geology and history buffs and travelers alike. The authors point out that Rome possessed many geographic advantages over surrounding areas: proximity to a major river with access to the sea, plateaus for protection, nearby sources of building materials, and most significantly, clean drinking water from springs in the Apennines. Even the resiliency of Rome's architecture and the stability of life on its hills are underscored by the city's geologic framework.
If carried along with a good city map, this book will expand the understanding of travelers who explore the eternal city's streets. Chapters are arranged geographically, based on each of the seven hills, the Tiber floodplain, ancient creeks that dissected the plateau, and ridges that rise above the right bank. As an added bonus, the last chapter consists of three field trips around the center of Rome, which can be enjoyed on foot or by using public transportation.
Customer Reviews:
original.......2007-10-03
Original in many ways, it offers the accomplished tourist with an enrichment from a perspective that other guidebooks do not offer. Much has to be said about the materials of construction used for the Servian Walls, the bases of temples and columns, the marble columns of churches, the flooring of streets, roads, and churches. It exposes the source location of such building materials, its use, and the effect of its use through out the ages.
Sure, the photographs are not of first quality, but for a paperback of $15, they are good enough (pushing for color would have doubled the book price). Yet, some of the photographs are original, like the ones at the quarries. Also, the sinkhole diagrams are original, not even the local newspaper graphics department thought of that.
The author could have mentioned some other interesting facts (but didn't), like the Justice Department building ("Palazzaccio"), built with heavy travertine stone on a clay foundation, and the 1980 earthquake in Southern Italy which had a muffled effect in Rome due to the clay foundation.
Sadly, a missed opportunity .......2006-05-04
This should have been a wonderful book.
Instead it deeply flawed by very bad writing.
The narrative is about as exciting as a glass
of cold spit and the sentence construction
reads as if it came from the pen of a sixth
grader who slept through English class.
On top of an impenetrable writing style the many
photographs are all black and white, even when
colour photographs or art work would have
been better (the line draws are wonderful for
the most part, clearly showing essential
material).
The photographs further suffer
from poor quality/composition. For example
the photo’s on page 6, 8 and 9 showing the
Trevi Fountain at different scales are useless
without a magnifying glass, and a photo
interpreter’s loop would be even better.
Page 57 shows a sink hole that could be
from any part of the world and simply takes
up space to no real effect. Again and again
the photographs either add nothing to the
readers ability to understand the narrative or
indeed take away from the book.
1) page 91, the “church of San Vitate”
according to the legend it’s surrounded
by “debris. . .accumulated since medieval times”
But from the picture it looks like a fast food
restaurant under construction.
2) page 93, a picture of “Monte Testaccio”
which shows a grassy mound with bits of crumbling
masonry and a fence that could be Monte Testaccio
or could be a grassy mound in NJ.
3) p112, caption “you can see evidence of the gradual
slumping movement in the curved trunks of trees.”
No, you can’t, or at least I can’t. It’s a picture of
trees and brush that could be almost anywhere in the world.
IF the reader looks very carefully they may see a tiny road
sign in the background that, with a bit of imagination, might
seem to show the curve of the trees. Or might not.
4) Page 115, a big hole in the ground with an earth mover.
The picture quality is almost good enough to make out the
strata. Almost.
5) Page 128, a riveting picture of what is supposed to be
the “modern travertine quarry, Bagni di Tivoli . . .” Looks
like a broken wall, with rubble and another earth mover that
could have been taken at a construction site in Idaho.
Fortunately I got this from the library. A book worth
adding to your personal library, but not at retail price.
I’m going to wait and buy my copy from the bargain bin at
$5.00 or better yet, $0.99.
Book Description
"Not only has Jo Bettoja captured the intensely flavorful, bubbly, textured cuisine of Rome in her delightful book, she has captured the spirit of the Romans in each recipe.This wonderful addition to the world of Italian cookbooks will make you savor Rome with every bite."
-Lidia Bastianich, author of Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen and Lidia's Italian Table, and host of the PBS series Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen
"Of the major cities, Rome has the biggest heart. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the street markets and at the Roman table. Jo Bettoja takes us there-she cooks with a heart as full of largesse and gusto as that of her adopted city."
-Frances Mayes, author of Under the Tuscan Sun
"No one can come close to Jo Bettoja in either knowledge or intrinsic understanding of Roman cooking. She has lived in Rome for so long that the waters of the Tiber are mixed with her blood. In a Roman Kitchen is a classic."
-Nick Malgieri, author of Great Italian and Perfect Cakes
Customer Reviews:
Fabulous Roman cookbook.......2006-04-18
If you have been to Roma and loved the food, then buy this book. Reading this book and looking at its pictures is just like being transported back to the Eternal City. If you are looking to expand your collection of authentic Italian cookbooks this book will make an excellent addition to your collection.
The directions are well written and easy to follow. The Tuna fish pate recipe reminded me of a dish I had in Trastevere (Jewish section of Roma) and was quick and easy to make in my home.
There is an entire section dedicated to Fritto Misto (Mixed Fry), which you know Romans love if you have been fortunate enough to spend time in Roma. These recipes are always appreciated in my home.
If you want to try a dish that will blow your mind (and your cardiologist's), the pasta with Gorgonzola and Mascarpone is unbelievable. How can 5 ingredients taste so sublime? Leave it to the Italians.
I also love the little tidbits of information that the author passing along about shopping in Roma.
I highly recommend this book to anyone that loves Roma, or wants to.
Shootout in the Forum. Two excellent Books at the Same Time.......2003-12-27
Two books on Roman cooking have appeared within the last eighteen (18) months, which gives us a golden opportunity to proof one against the other to find the better book. The first published last year is , `Cooking the Roman Way' by David Downie. The second, more recently published book is the current subject `In a Roman Kitchen: Timeless Recipes from the Eternal City' by Jo Bettoja.
In general, Downie's book appears to be based more on restaurante, trattoria, and osteria recipes while Bettoja seems to rely more on home cooking recipes. Still, there is a significant overlap of recipe names. I had no trouble at all finding five recipes with the same traditional Italian name, although the English translation of the name may have been a little different. I give high marks to both authors for giving the Italian names of all dishes in both the text and the index.
I compared the recipes for five dishes:
Gnocchi di Semolino alla Romana
Spaghetti alla Carbonara
Cipolline in Agrodolce alla Romana
Carciofi alla Giudia
Frittata con Zucchini
Although no pair of recipes was the same, I can find virtually nothing in these five recipes which would suggest that one author was presenting consistently superior recipes. I was slightly annoyed with Downie for specifying white coctail onions in the Cipolline recipe, especially since I have no trouble finding cipolline in my local Pennsylvania megamart. My conclusion that Downie relies on the Trattoria and Bettoja relies on the home is in the sources they cite for their recipes. Both appear to give equal time to the influence of the Jewish quarter on Roman cooking.
In Bettoja's case, the focus seems to be on a large number of recipes for each major type of Roman dish. She has, for example, more pasta, artichoke, and fava bean recipes than Downie, and also more dessert recipes. This is ironic since Downie controverts one of my hero Mario Batali's claims that Italians do not go in for sweets.
In contrast, Downie includes many seminally Roman recipes which Bettoja simply ignores. He has excellent recipes for making both Pizza Bianco, a certifiable Roman speciality, and fresh fettucini, including sound recommendations on making the fettucini completely by hand and with the assistance of power mixers and power pasta rolling machines. Most surprising of all is that Downie includes the recipe for Gnocchi di Patate while Bettoja does not. My understanding from Mario is that this is a Roman speciality and every trattoria in Rome serves it on Thursday. Alternately, Claudia Roden identifies it as a northern (Friuli) Italian speciality. Since Downie specifically cites potato gnocchi as the Roman canonical dish for Thursday and thereby agrees with Mario, I have to assume that while the dish may be promenant outside Rome, it is certainly a distinctively Roman dish as well.
Bettoja is a teacher who runs her own culinary school in Rome while Downie is a culinary journalist, so it surprises me that it is Downie who has the superior sidebars on some basic techniques such as how to clean an artichoke (sidebars with step by step photographs) and how to roast and skin sweet peppers.
Even though Bettoja's book is later and even though the books have identical list prices and almost identical page counts, Downie's book is much richer in the quality and quantity of it's photographs, almost all with useful captions. I generally do not count good photography to a cookbook's credit, but in the case of a book dedicated to so photogenic a location as Rome, I must make an exception here. For the identical price, Downie and his photographer and editors have simply done a much better job. Downie's book is also richer in sidebars on general Roman and Italian culinary matters. His headnotes for individual dishes are also richer in explaining the history of many dishes such as Fettucini Alfredo and Fettucini alla Papalina.
In the battle of the blurbs, Downie has Mario and Carol Field while Bettoja has Lidia Bastianich and Frances Mayes on her back cover. I think that's a tie.
I would buy both of these books, even with the rather substantial overlap in named dishes. The overlap is actually a plus for amateur foodie scholars, as it gives one the sense of exactly how different two sources can be with exactly the same dish. Bettoja is a great source for pasta recipes and Roman desserts, while Downie has much greater success at evoking the Roman ambiance and in covering deeper techniques. Downie also wins the points on domestic sources for flour and other Italian specialities. Bettoja rather quixotically gives us the telephone numbers of companies in Rome. Not very useful unless you plan to visit Rome in the near future.
Both books are recommended. If you need to choose one, I would pick Downie's book.
At Home in Rome.......2003-06-13
Last spring, I passed a pleasant hour conversing with Jo Bettoja in her gracious Roman apartment near the Trevi Fountain.
This spring, I've passed many pleasant hours visiting again with Jo Bettoja - this time in the pages of her inviting new book "In a Roman Kitchen: Timeless Recipes from the Eternal City."
Bettoja is an American from Millen, Georgia, a small town near Savannah. As a young woman, she traveled to Rome on a modeling assignment. She fell in love with the city and also with Angelo Bettoja, to whom she has been married for nearly 50 years. The couple have three grown children. Having lived the better part of her long and colorful life in Rome, I believe it's safe to say that Jo Bettoja is Italian. Just as a religious convert is sometimes more zealous than someone born to the faith, Bettoja spreads the gospel of genuine cucina alla Romana with unparalleled passion.
It seems wherever she has tread for the past half century on the ancient stones of the city, recipes and food lore present themselves to her. Bettoja credits her initial training in Italian cooking to her husband. Then, in the 1970s, with Anna Maria Cornetto, she launched the fashionable cooking school Lo Scaldavivande. She has also written several cookbooks and published magazine articles.
"In a Roman Kitchen" is touchingly personal - like a collection of recipes and memories a mother would pass on to a daughter. These days, Bettoja still scours the street markets for the finest seasonal produce and other ingredients. She tells us of puntarelle, sliced chickory stems only available for a short time in spring, and the renowned carciofi alla Giudia, Fried Artichokes The Jewish Way. She culls dishes of noble pedigree, such as Chicken Breasts for the Princess from her friend Signor Ettore Nibbi who started his culinary career as a kitchen boy in a Roman palace. At the other end of the social scale, she transcribes recipes from a taxi driver including one for delightful Baked Stuffed Chicken Breasts (recipe follows). She cajoles her friends into sharing tempting home-style recipes such as Mina's Meat Loaf and Ginetta's Party Pasta.
She escorts us to her bakery Riposati that faces the Trevi Fountain. "They sell a little bit of everything, but they have kept their ovens and still make their bread, only once a day now, but still of fine quality," Bettoja writes. "During Carnival they make the traditional sweets, frappe and castagnole, which are particularly good, and small simple pastries all year long. They have small and large rolls of all kinds, Terni loaves, bread with and without salt, squares of 'white' pizza painted with olive oil and sprinkled with kosher salt, 'red' pizza with tomato sauce on top, rough white country bread, Arab bread, brown coarse loaves, and so on."
Bettoja is a sorceress of succulence. Leafing through the recipes for Bucatini all'Amatriciana (long hollow pasta in tomato sauce with bacon and hot pepper), Calamari alla Romana (squid in spicy wine sauce), Coda alla Vaccinara (braised oxtails with celery), Abbacchio al Forno con Papate (roast baby lamb with potatoes), Piselli al Prosciutto (sweet peas with prosciutto), Crostata alla Romana (Roman cherry jam tart), and Semifreddo con Fragole (frozen cream with strawberries and almond praline) makes one ravenous. Candid halftone photographs, by Paolo Destefanis, of street scenes and food markets season the work with a sense of place.
All Bettoja's recipes are written with simplicity very much attuned to the time and talents of home cooks whether or not they have the grand fortune to live in Rome.
Re-creating Roma.......2003-04-17
I visit Rome once a year, and in between times I dream of it. Of course, sitting in a Roman trattoria enjoying a fritto misto Romano , perhaps with artichokes, zucchini, or salt cod, tasting the wintery greens such as puntarelle, and hazlenut desserts, makes up part of that dream. Now Jo Bettoja has made the dream a savory reality, allowing me to create some of those joys here in New York, while imagining the sun set over St Peter's of course. Even a non-meat eater like myself can find dozens of pleasures in this treasure of a book.
Do As This Roman Does.......2003-03-18
By Bill Marsano. Jo Bettoja (pronounced bet-TOY-a) went to Italy from
Georgia in the early 1970s as a model; she stayed to marry and become one
of the great ambassadors of Italian cooking. By now she's a kind of
culinary-cultural monument.
This is her latest and most delightful book--it fails to get a fifth star
through no fault of her own--because it focuses on Roman cooking (the fad
for the rather overrated Tuscan is abating at last) and because it is so
personal. You can feel it from her opening sentence: "My home is in Rome,
not far from the Trevi Fountain, just a short walk to the marketplace."
Isak Dinesen's "I had a farm in Africa" is another memorable opener, but
with Jo you know you're going to eat. And she takes you right to her
marketplace, and through Roman traditions and foibles and lore, while
piling on the recipes.
Which are not all Roman, by the way. Romans have, over the years,
grudgingly admitted that some other Italians can cook, at least a little,
and so what we have here are real Roman recipes and adopted Roman recipes.
Pastas are especially abundant because no Italians are so crazy about pasta
as Romans. There's also a nice selection of egg dishes (legacy of Ancient
Rome) and fritti misti or mixed fries, a more modern Roman passion.
In the tradition of cookbrook writers of her era, Jo doesn't discuss wine,
so allow me to recommend Rome's white, light and beguiling Frascati, which
entranced Americans during the postwar "sunny Italy" tourist boom. Back
then (the 1960s), Frascati was merely popular; today it's a quality wine.
Look for Fontana Candida's Santa Teresa and Terre dei Griffi; Villa
Simone's Vigneto Filonardi and Vigna dei Preti; Falesco's Vitiana; Colle
Picchioni; and Conte Zandotti's San Paolo.
So--why no fifth star? Poor design, deserving of a sound smack or two with
a wooden spoon. No, make that a rolling pin. Thinking to introduce color to
the pages, the designer chose a light mustard-yellow for many of the recipe
headings. Sorry, but it tends to blend in and so is hard to read. The
ingredients lists use a smallish italic that also fades. The body type is a
fuss-budget's dream, distracting with its silly, swishy little details.
Forty years in publishing have taught me that type's job is to convey
information legibly and easily, not to call attention to itself.
By the way: Some travelers may recognize the name. That's because Jo is the
wife of Angelo Bettoja, owner of one of Rome's finest hotel groups. Their
five family-run hotels, centrally located and well priced, are, like this
book, full of Roman warmth.
--Bill Marsano is an award-winning writer on wine and spirits, travel and
other subjects.
Book Description
From Italy's popular author Corrado Augias comes the most intriguing exploration of Rome ever to be published. In the mold of his earlier histories of Paris, New York, and London, Augias moves perceptively through twenty-seven centuries of Roman life, shedding new light on a cast of famous, and infamous, historical figures and uncovering secrets and conspiracies that have shaped the city without our ever knowing it. From Rome's origins as Romulus's stomping ground to the dark atmosphere of the Middle Ages; from Caesar's unscrupulousness to Caravaggio's lurid genius; from the notorious Lucrezia Borgia to the seductive Anna Fallarino, the marchioness at the center of one of Rome's most heinous crimes of the post-war period, Augias creates a sweeping account of the passions that have shaped this complex city: at once both a metropolis and a village, where all human sentiment-bravery and cowardice, industriousness and sloth, enterprise and laxity-find their interpreters and stage. If the history of humankind is all passion and uproar, then, as the author notes, "for centuries Rome has been the mirror of this history, reflecting with excruciating accuracy every detail, even those that might cause you to avert your gaze."
Book Description
The culinary journey that began with Umbria and Veneto, has arrived in the eternal city of Rome and its surrounding region of Latium. In Roma, Julia della Croce ventures from coast to countryside to reveal over 60 cherished recipes passed from generation to generation in this region rich with culinary tradition. While the area surrounding Rome exhibits both the traditions of the Greeks and the culinary refinements of the Etruscans, each of the five Roman provinces has maintained its own culture and culinary character. From the fresh seafood in the coastal province of Latina; to the rustic aged meats and sturdy cooking of the most northerly province of Rieti; to the simple, seasonal dishes of Viterbo known for its aromatic olive oils; to the handmade pastas and rich, savory meat sauces of the landlocked Frosinone province; and finally to the lusty cooking of Rome itself, this collection beautifully captures the authentic tastes of this region's legendary food. Della Croce also lists her favorite places to stay, fun and historical local festivals, and where to find authentic regional Italian cooking and wine classes for those planning a Roman adventure.
Book Description
Internationally recognized expert and veteran of fifty trips to Rome, Frank Korn presents an insider's guide to the city. He describes not only the familiar churches, basilicas, and historic places, but also takes travelers on fascinating detours down back alleys to little-known, though very important sites. For both the public and the private Rome, he reveals the legends and traditions associated with each.
With a warm and engaging style, the author explains Jubilee Year background and ceremonies and offers Jubilee travelers meaningful alternatives to the typical sites with their expected three-times-heavier crowds. He also lists which church offers Mass in which language.
This guide is not only for Catholics but also helps travelers of other faiths appreciate a culture not their own. The author's storytelling style and invaluable facts, and the book's photos, maps, and index, make this a perfect choice for tourists and pilgrims, armchair travelers, priests and religious. It also offers "insider's info" that every travel agent and travel store will want to pass on to their customers.
Customer Reviews:
A Must Read & Take Along.......2007-05-07
I read this cover to cover before I went on my trip to Rome and I was
able to visit some of the lesser known churches that are not normally
on the guided tours like St Prassede, and St. Pudenziana. It includes
a great deal of the history of many of the churches and I HIGHLY
recommend it to any Catholic heading to Rome.
Seeing Rome's Soul.......2000-04-29
This is a book for those who have been there, and those who would like to be! It is a "must-take-along" for those on their way.
Customer Reviews:
Fascinating walking tour of Rome.......2007-06-03
This book allows you to take a walking tour of Rome and read the fascinating background of the sights in front of you. This book made me understand Rome's depth.
a day in Rome + this book = unforgettable experience (for me).
Spend Smartly.......2003-06-28
This is an excellent book but at 42 smackers, the question is "Is it worth it?"
Well that depends on the user.
I spent 8 days in Rome and carried this book with me to many places. It was especially handy when tours were unavailable or inconvenient. Testa blends interesting tidbits into a thorough, yet concise, summary of each subject. If you're not rushed for time and have a relaxing 15 minutes to sit outside of St. Peters, or the Colosseum, or one of the other 35 places/topics included in this book (or even later in the hotel), then I would recommend it. This is indeed where the book proves its value.
If, however, you are rushed for time or deeply interested in one particular topic, other more general (Eyewitness, Rome's Top 10) or more specific books (for all sites covered there are probably many books to chose from) may better suit you.
Other travel guides are best used for planning purposes. Leave them in the hotel. They're too heavy to carry. Though not billed as a travel guide, this book works really well as just that. This is true *only* if you are the type of person who will take the time to read it. Otherwise, save your money for the gelato.
Finally, and this is my only criticism of the book's content... or the lack thereof, I was a little disappointed at the breadth of coverage. It seems (again considering the price) more subjects could have been treated. For instance Santa Maria del Popolo was not among the subjects included.
But this opinion may be a product of how I used the book. It is apparently intended to be a survey, not a comprehensive guide. My review however, is written with the traveler in mind. (If you're just interested in a general survey of Roman art and architecture, I've only read this one. It seems adequate enough.)
A fascinating, and exceedingly readable survey........2002-01-14
In Rome is Love Spelled Backward, by Dr. Judith Testa, an almost insurmountable mountain of enthralling history is condensed, controlled, and lovingly compiled into a volume that is not only very readable, but maintains the excitement, and vitality, of the most awesome city in the world. Clearly, Dr. Testa knows and loves this Eternal City.
Not until I read Testa's, Rome is Love Spelled Backward, and A Traveler in Rome, by H. V. Morton, did I come to understand and agree with the quote, "The ancient ruins are all around you, . . . . This is the center, and all the rest of the world is the periphery." Judith Testa's book is the only book I carry with me while wandering around Rome, year after year. A pre-Roman holiday must read!
A fascinating, and exceedingly readable survey........2002-01-14
In Rome is Love Spelled Backward, by Dr. Judith Testa, an almost insurmountable mountain of enthralling history is condensed, controlled, and lovingly compiled into a volume that is not only very readable, but maintains the excitement, and vitality, of the most awesome city in the world. Clearly, Dr. Testa knows and loves this Eternal City.
Not until I read Testa's, Rome is Love Spelled Backward, and A Traveler in Rome, by H. V. Morton, did I come to understand and agree with the quote, "The ancient ruins are all around you, . . . . This is the center, and all the rest of the world is the periphery." Judith Testa's book is the only book I carry with me while wandering around Rome, year after year. A pre-Roman holiday must read!
A scholarly, highly accessible work.......2001-07-04
In Rome Is Love Spelled Backward [Roma Amor], Judith Testa (Professor of Art History at Northern Illinois University) takes the reader on a fascinating and informative historical survey of the art, architecture, personalities, and wonders of the Eternal City from it founding down to the present day. The five sections around which her commentaries are organized and presented include: Ancient Rome; Early Christian and Medieval Rome; Late Medieval and Renaissance Rome; Baroque Rome; and Modern Rome. A scholarly, highly accessible work, enthusiastically recommended history, Rome Is Love Spelled Backward is enhanced for the reader with extensive notes, a bibliography, list of illustrations, and an exhaustive, nine page index.
Book Description
A major new book on the archaeology of Rome. The chapters, by an impressive list of contributors, are written to be as up-to-date and useful as possible, detailing a plethora of new research. There are new maps for the topography and monuments of Rome, a huge research bibliography containing 1,700 titles, and numerous rich illustrations. Essential for all scholars and students of Ancient Rome.
Contents: Preface: a bird's eye view (Peter Wiseman) Introduction (Jon Coulston and Hazel Dodge) Early and Archaic Rome (Christopher Smith) The city of Rome in the Middle Republic (Tim Cornell) The moral museum: Augustus and the image of Rome (Susan Walker) Armed and belted men: the soldiery in Imperial Rome (Janet Delaine and G. Aldrete) The feeding of Imperial Rome: the mechanics of the food supply system (David Mattingly) `Greater than the pyramids': the water supply of Ancient Rome (Hazel Dodge) Entertaining Rome (Kathleen Coleman) Living and dying in the city of Rome: houses and tombs (John Patterson) Religions of Rome (Simon Price) Rome in the Late Empire (Neil Christie) Archaeology and innovation (Hugh Petter) Appendix: Sources for the study of ancient Rome (Jon Coulston and Hazel Dodge)
Customer Reviews:
Behind the Scenes at the Imperial Capital.......2003-01-11
I went to Rome last March and took this book with me. Although it is not designed as a guidebook (it is heavy on foot-notes, further references etc) it encouraged me to go and visit some of the lesser known sites of Rome where archaeologists have recently been working. I loved the chapter on food supply especially and went to see Monte Testaccio, a pile of broken pots discarded from the boats that carried wine up the Tiber. It's extraordinary - as high as a natural hill - and the book gave full details of the internal structure, the types of vessel that made up the pile, and some of the statistics for how much alcohol Rome consumed. There are some other great chapters too and the authors are well-known experts: Kathleen Coleman, who wrote the chapter on sports and pastimes, was the technical advisor for the Russell Crowe movie Gladiator. Anyway, all in all, a really fascinating read and bang up-to-date on the continuing work archaeologists are doing in Rome to expose daily life, behind the glitzy imperial facade.
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- A Catalogue of the Caricatures of Max Beerbohm.
- Wilderness Visionaries: Leopold, Thoreau, Muir, Olson, Murie, Service, Marshall, Rutstrum
- A British Tale of Indian and Foreign Service: The Memoirs of Sir Ian Scott
General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
Mussolini's Italy: Life Under the Fascist Dictatorship, 1915-1945
Fascist Spectacle: The Aesthetics of Power in Mussolini's Italy (Studies on the History of Society and Culture)
Donatello Among The Blackshirts: History And Modernity In The Visual Culture Of Fascist Italy
The Body of Il Duce: Mussolini's Corpse and the Fortunes of Italy
Fascist Modernities: Italy, 1922-1945 (Studies on the History of Society and Culture, 42)
