Will I love Rome?

I find myself struggling with the impulse to see the great empires as superhumans or so different from me that I could never understand how they live as they do.

This book reminded me that my fears and selfish desires aren’t so different from those of the Romans. I see signs of their impact in my everyday life, and I constantly wonder what life was like for Romans who never would have thought that people like me would be studying them centuries later. This book takes me into the mindset of people living in constant threat of annihilation and how… show more.

I find the city of Rome an endlessly fascinating place. As a Roman historian, I feel I know the ancient city well, yet Matthew Kneale’s book has introduced me to a much longer history, revealing multiple cities of Rome, from a small settlement on the Tiber river to becoming the religious centre of Renaissance Europe and culminating in the rise of Fascism and the Nazi occupation of Rome.

What I find fascinating is learning about Rome as a city home to people of various ethnicities, religions, and political outlooks over time.