Marvels of Rome

Want to know about medieval and classical-era Rome? Here is a travel guide for pilgrims that touches on all the important "had to see" monuments, roads, landmarks, temples, and palaces. For centuries, this book and its various reprints were essential reading for anybody making the pilgrimage to Rome. The maps are astounding, if somewhat difficult to learn to read, but once you get used to them, you'll find it easy to flip through them. I used this book to get a feel for the history of Rome that fell between the classical era and the Renaissance. In this the book was completely satisfactory. I also used its maps to correlate with the Renaissance-era ones, since the major roads and monuments didn't change all that much. It was fun to see how the ancient pagan obelisks, temples, and arches matched up with the later churches and shrines. The Gazetteer gives some excellent flavor to the city, making it come alive. I had no idea Rome was so richly layered before reading this all-too-short book. I would say that it's not a modern popular history, so don't get this thinking you're going to get modern analyses of the era; it's a reprint of medieval works, so it's going to look a little dry. There is little explanation offered for anything in here, though there is a glossary. But for what it is, it's absolutely amazing, and I'm glad I ran into it.

I plan on taking this guide with me to Rome. I will see how relevant this guide remains. Rome in eternal, perhaps this guide will also prove to be eternal. I have been to Rome nine times, so I know the city.

Too bad this was published so early in the history of Italica Press. With its present resources, that press would probably give a facing Latin text, which would make the book much more useful to scholars. Eileen Gardiner's Gazetteer, added in the Second Edition, is an valuable addition.

The text is entirely in English translations. Only a few notes are in the original Latin. If you want the text in both languages, seek elsewhere.

Great book, about urbi for the orbi