The Atlas of Ancient Rome: Biography and Portraits of the City - Two-volume slipcased set

This surely has to be the most ambitious and detailed survey of the topography and buildings of ancient Rome ever attempted. The approach adopted is to take each of the fourteen regions of the ancient city and by utilising archaeological, literary and numismatic evidence, the earlier plans of Palladio and Rodolfo Lanciani, the surviving fragments of the Severan marble plan, and in some cases judicious speculation, to provide a sort of A to Z map and history of each zone. There follows reconstructions of both the domestic and monumental buildings and shrines as they developed from the early days of the monarchy circa 700 BC up to Gothic wars of the mid sixth century AD which did so much to accelerate the neglect and ruination of the classical city. Volume one has the text with plenty of photographic illustrations and 3D reconstructions, and volume two the maps with ground plans of buildings, both famous and obscure, and line drawing reconstructions of the buildings with colour codings to indicate which elements are remains in situ and which elements are reconstructions. These are accompanied by small photographs of important works of art and archaeological fragments found in the vicinity and my only minor criticism is that some of these photos are rather small and tend to make the pages look rather crowded. Still, better too much information than too little.I realise that organising, editing and translating a project of this kind is a laborious undertaking and there are occasional blips not picked up by the proof readers particularly with regard to dates. The sestertius issued by Severus Alexander to commemorate his monumental fountain must surely date to about AD226 not AD26, and I counted at least a dozen examples where dates that should clearly be AD are given as BC and vice versa. There are also some occasional infelicities and oddities in the translation such as etchings being referred to as incisions and marble basins as tubs. But by any measure The Atlas of Ancient Rome is a tremendous achievement. If you want to know what the city looked like during the various phases of its 1200 year ancient period then this two volume set, which in my opinion is not expensive for the amount of effort that went into it and the quality of its production, now supersedes all previous works on the subject. For the tourist who is particularly interested in the archaeology of ancient Rome the excellent archaeological guides by Amanda Claridge and by Filippo Coarelli are perhaps more compact and user-friendly and therefore preferable but for the serious student of the subject this new work is an absolute must-have. Strongly recommended.

Yes, I know it is an expensive book, but it really is worth it. The standard of scholarship you get for this price is outstanding. The translation from Italian is a little flawed at times but this is really only a very minor niggle which does not really detract from an otherwise excellent and no doubt the definitive atlas of ancient Rome. Italian academic language can be a little challenging in places. Not confusing, but just different to what most English speakers are used to. Those who tackle French academic papers will know what I mean. The illustrations are good and enhance this work enormously. A highly recommended purchase for anyone with a passion for the Roman world. If you love the ancient world but are put off by the price, don't be, it is worth every penny. I have owned this work for two months now and still get happily lost in it every evening!

This a fantastically comprehensive tome for anyone who wishes to expand their understanding of the history of Ancient Rome. The study covers the chronology of each of the Augustan regions in turn and puts real flesh on the bone regarding the sequence of events and the histories concerning the sites and monument within those areas. Rather than being a site guide, the first volume goes into expressive detail about each area from the Palaeolithic to the Early Medieval. The second volume brings out the exited child in any historian with extensive illustrations of the archaeology of each site with close ups on individual monument; with a comprehensive atlas of the entire city at the back. I was lost for days in all of it…

I bought this as a gift so not read it personally, but the receiver, an archaeology enthusiast with a certain interest in Ancient Rome said it was better than he expected.

This is an impressive book in two hefty volumes, well presented and crammed with detail about the ancient city. If you like poring over plans which trace the development of a site - at first sight in an overload of information - you'll love this. In other words this is not a coffee table tome. It is a serious attempt to give the reader (almost) all we know about the way Rome changed over time, from the eighth century BCE to the end of the classical period. However, if you come to this book with little or no prior knowledge of the history or archaeology of Rome you may end up seriously misled.The problem is this: Carandini's interpretation of the archaeological finds is highly controversial, particularly for the earliest period. His view is, basically, that the myths of ancient Rome have a historical reality. For example, you will find in this book the site of Romulus hut. To say his views are disputed would be very much an understatement! So why recommend it? Because there is so much else to appreciate here if you can keep in mind that caveat. I would strongly suggest having a look at Kathryn Lomas recent book (which considers its early history and situates it within the context of the rest of Italy) The Rise of Rome - comparatively affordable, very readable and above all eminently balanced - to complement Carandini.Having said all this, I have spent many hours enjoying it so far and because of the amount of detail I have many hours left. I won't be able to afford a new edition, if there is one, which would be an opportunity on the publishers part to revise the translation (from the Italian original) which reads a bit odd at times and occasionally turns into gobbledegook but not so often as to be a distraction.I did think about giving it 3 stars but, overall, I do recommend it. Just please please make sure that you read it very carefully!

BOUGHT AS A GIFT AND THE RECIPIENT TELLS ME THAT IT IS INCREDIBLY INFORMATIVE AND THAT IT IS JUST WHAT HE WANTED FOR HIS STUDIES.

Beautiful bought for my husbands birthday just what he wanted ,didn't realise there were 2books just wonderful if you love roman history

This is an absolutely fantastic book that covers Ancient Rome in amazing detail. It is truly an atlas. You will learn so, so much. But be forewarned, this book is not for the faint of heart. This is not some easy read that you can leisurely peruse. This book demands your attention, patients, and determination in order to get the most out of it. However, if you are willing to put in the effort, you will be rewarded with an insight into ancient Rome that would otherwise require you to scour many different sources. It's all here but you will need to work a bit to tease it out.

I have been looking for this work for a couple of years after getting knowledge of it on a youtube video; I was afraid at first because of the price, even though I had downloaded the samples on the internet. As a history passionate reader I had already some knowledge of Ancient Roman history, but this works offers perspectives and thought on the development of the city of Ancient Rome, their main monuments and landmarks which give the ultimate portrait of the greatest capital of the antiquity. Surely a piece that any history passionate, especially of antiquity, cannot miss. I believe it should belong to any library.Ho cercato quest'opera per un paio d'anni dopo averne appresa l'esistenza su un video di YouTube; All'inizio ero frenato a causa del prezzo, anche se avevo scaricato dei samples gratuiti da internet. Come lettore appassionato di storia avevo già una certa conoscenza della storia di Roma antica, ma questo lavoro offre prospettive e riflessioni sullo sviluppo della città , i suoi principali monumenti e punti di riferimento che danno il ritratto definitivo della più grande capitale dell'antichità. Sicuramente un pezzo che ogni appassionato di storia, soprattutto dell'antichità, non può lasciarsi scappare. Credo che dovrebbe essere presente in qualsiasi biblioteca.

Parfait

Una obra sublime para los amantes de la Antigua Roma, realmente impresionante!!!!

Overall wonderful.