A la recherche de la Rome antique

by Claude Moatti

Mille fois détruite et reconstruite, Rome n'a jamais disparu de la carte du monde et ses ruines ont excercé une véritable fascination dont témoignent dès le Moyen Âge les guides pour pèlerins, les Mirabilia urbis. Au moment même où l'Europe découvre l'Amérique, princes, artistes et érudits, aventuriers et papes recherchent fébrilement dans le sous-sol de la ville les traces de sa splendeur ; l'ancienne capitale sans fin pillée et restaurée renaît alors dans les descriptions et les cartes. Mais ce n'est qu'au XXᵉ siècle, grâce à l'essor de l'archéologie, que les origines de la cité sont enfin dévoilées.Claudia Moatti, historienne passionnée par la ville de Rome, relate ici l'aventure de cette incessante quête du passé.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Italy, Art, Archaeology, Architecture

208 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[Writerlibrarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of the wonderful collection "Découverte" at Gallimard. These books are gems and fun to read and don't overwhelm you with facts, numbers. It uses pictures, drawings, facts and history put in a clear and concise way. This is a nice introduction to the Roman world, the city of Rome in particular. I'm on a Roman reading kick these days. So this non fiction picture book was a good way to refresh my memory and learn new things.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm afraid this was a bit of a yawn, dashing down the centuries of the Eternal City by way of archaeology. The topic itself was a draw, as was the small size of the book and its plethora of colored plates. Alas, it was too much of an overview (well, what did I expect in a short book!) and the lovely illustrations were accordingly too small to peruse appropriately. The inclusion of so many documents was interesting but rather pedantic. Oh, well.

[Victor Sonkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting for the sources, still more interesting for some very rare illustrations, quite gripping on the subject of Rome looted, restored and curated by the French throughout the 19th century, but otherwise no more than a sketch.

[Jonathan]

None

[Rhode PVD · Rating 3 out of 5]

A small-sized but gorgeously illustrated guide. Sure, it's not in depth scholarship, but it is an extraordinarily pleasant item to while away a long train ride or rainy Sunday afternoon with.