Unknown Rome. Legends and secret places of the Eternal City
14.99 €
In stock
Unknown Rome. Legends and secret places of the Eternal City
14.99 €
Elena Elokhina - "a Roman at heart" - is a native of St. Petersburg, a bachelor's and master's student at St. Petersburg State University and La Sapienza University, and a professional guide in Rome and the Vatican. She has been living in the Eternal City for over 15 years and has an excellent knowledge of the local culture and language. She runs a popular blog about Rome, where she talks about the unknown places of the city. The book is written based on her experiences and the tours she gives to individual travelers.
Rome is a fascinating city where eras layer on top of each other like a "historical lasagna". It is worth exploring it not horizontally, as we are used to when traveling, collecting places and museums. But vertically, looking at a slice of each monument, like a saw cut of a centuries-old oak tree with many rings.
Romans run to work past ancient columns stuck in the walls of houses, sit in parks on ancient sarcophagi instead of benches, build new houses on ancient foundations, and decorate city squares with the rubble of marble statues. Everyone is so used to it that they don't even notice. Time has left so much "legacy" here that it would be unfair to the city not to take it into account. All of these are doors to storerooms full of unexpected worlds. Almost like a closet to Narnia. To get there, all you have to do is be as curious as children. To notice an ancient inscription on a wall or a nearly obliterated mural on the front of a house. Not parade squares and fountains, but often something unnoticeable can tell a very interesting story. But only to those who are ready to hear it.
- Is it true that statues talk in Rome?
- How to visit reclusive nuns?
- Where were poisons brewed for alchemists and potions for the Pope?
- Where did honest courtesans pray for their sins?
- How to find masterpieces of Caravaggio and Raphael without buying a ticket to the museum?
Answers to all these and many other unexpected questions you will find in this book.
Rome is a fascinating city where eras layer on top of each other like a "historical lasagna". It is worth exploring it not horizontally, as we are used to when traveling, collecting places and museums. But vertically, looking at a slice of each monument, like a saw cut of a centuries-old oak tree with many rings.
Romans run to work past ancient columns stuck in the walls of houses, sit in parks on ancient sarcophagi instead of benches, build new houses on ancient foundations, and decorate city squares with the rubble of marble statues. Everyone is so used to it that they don't even notice. Time has left so much "legacy" here that it would be unfair to the city not to take it into account. All of these are doors to storerooms full of unexpected worlds. Almost like a closet to Narnia. To get there, all you have to do is be as curious as children. To notice an ancient inscription on a wall or a nearly obliterated mural on the front of a house. Not parade squares and fountains, but often something unnoticeable can tell a very interesting story. But only to those who are ready to hear it.
- Is it true that statues talk in Rome?
- How to visit reclusive nuns?
- Where were poisons brewed for alchemists and potions for the Pope?
- Where did honest courtesans pray for their sins?
- How to find masterpieces of Caravaggio and Raphael without buying a ticket to the museum?
Answers to all these and many other unexpected questions you will find in this book.
See also:
- All books by the publisher
- All books by the author
- All books in the series Great Cities. History