Rome from the Ground Up - Hardcover

Mcgregor, James H S

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0674019113 ISBN 13: 9780674019119

Publisher: Harvard University Press, 2005

Synopsis

Rome is not one city but many, each with its own history unfolding from a different centre: now the trading port on the Tiber; now the Forum of antiquity; the Palatine of imperial power; the Lateran Church of Christian ascendancy; the Vatican; the Quirinal palace. Beginning with the very shaping of the ground on which Rome first rose, this book conjures all these cities, past and present, conducting the reader through time and space to the complex and shifting realities - architectural, historical, political and social - that constitute Rome. A multifaceted historical portrait, this richly illustrated work is as gritty as it is gorgeous, immersing readers in the practical world of each period. James McGregor's explorations afford the pleasures of a novel thick with characters and plot twists: amid the life struggles, hopes and failures of countless generations, we see how things truly worked, then and now; we learn about the materials of which Rome was built; of the Tiber and its bridges; of roads, aqueducts, and sewers; and, always, of power, especially the power to shape the city and imprint it with a particular personality - like that of Nero or Trajan or Pope Sixtus V - or a particular institution. McGregor traces the successive urban forms that rulers have imposed, from emperors and popes to national governments including Mussolini's. And, in archaeologists' and museums' presentation of Rome's past, he shows that the documenting of history itself is fraught with power and politics. In McGregor's own beautifully written account, the power and politics emerge clearly, manifest in the distinctive styles and structures, practical concerns and aesthetic interests that constitute the myriad Romes of our day and days past.

About this title

Review

"Rome from the Ground Up" is splendid. It is an informative and intriguing introduction to the city, not only for those on their first visit but also for many who have been beguiled by the city but have wanted a guide to lead them step by step, illuminating buildings as they go, who may not need (nor want) the quantities of information supplied by a more thoroughgoing architectural guide. As such it fills a distinct need and has done it handsomely. I will certainly recommend it to our students-- and to anyone else heading to Rome.--Alexander Purves, Professor, Yale University School of Architecture

About the Author

James H. S. McGregor is Professor and Co-Head of the Department of Comparative Literature at the University of Georgia.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0674019113
• ISBN 13: 9780674019119
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 332