Chronicles of Old Rome: Exploring Italy's Eternal City (Chronicles Series) by Tamara Thiessen - Softcover

Thiessen, Tamara

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0984633448 ISBN 13: 9780984633449

Publisher: Museyon, 2012

Synopsis

Discover la dolce vita on this grand tour of Italy’s historic capital told through 30 dramatic true stories spanning nearly 3,000 years, plus detailed walking tours complete with easy-to-read maps. From the Curia Pompei, site of Julius Caesar’s assassination in 44 BC, to the Borgia Apartments in the Vatican, see the real-life places where history happened in this richly illustrated guide. Along with infamous power games between heroes and villains, you will find Rome’s smart and powerful women, such as Agrippina, St. Agnes, Margherita, Artemisia, and more. Then relax like Goethe and Keats at the Café Greco, Rome’s chicest coffee bar since 1760, or visit the Palazzo Colonna, the site of Audrey Hepburn’s Roman Holiday.

About this title

About the Author:

Tamara Thiessen is an Australian author, photographer, and travel writer whose work has been featured in a variety of publications, including Conde Nast Traveller, DK Eyewitness Guide to Italy, the Globe and Mail, National Geographic Traveller, and the Sydney Morning Herald.

Review:

Fantasy and fact: That is the story of the early days of Rome. The city's mythical founders, Romulus and Remus, of course, are among the great legendary figures of world history. But author Tamara Thiessen writes about very real legends too, including Lucretia, Julius Caesar, Antony, Cleopatra and Caligula. She also discusses the Roman baths, gladiators fighting to the death at the Colosseum, Michelangelo and the painting of the Sistine Chapel, and the corrupt rule of the Borgias.

Stories also are told of the numerous artists, philosophers and bohemians who gathered at Caffe Greco, including Casanova, who was "among the first guests" when the literary coffeehouse opened in 1760. So many English travelers congregated around the Piazza di Spagna that it earned the nickname of Ghetto degli Inglesi, the English Ghetto. It was in this part of Rome that the English poet John Keats died of tuberculosis at age 25. The residence where he spent his last days is a museum known as the Keats-Shelley House.

The last quarter of the book consists of six walking tours from Capitoline Hill to the Trevi Fountain. As with others in the wonderful Chronicles series, the book contains numerous examples of famous paintings, illustrations and photographs of Rome, both past and present. --Chicago Tribune, 09/25/2012

About this edition

• Publisher: Museyon
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0984633448
• ISBN 13: 9780984633449
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272