Notes from a Roman Terrace

by Joan Marble

A delightful travel memoir of contemporary life in Rome, by the author of the well-loved Notes from an Italian Garden .

Joan Marble has lived in a sixteenth-century Roman palazzo apartment with husband Robert, a sculptor, for over forty years. A lifetime of mingling with the citizens of Rome and pottering about on her beloved terrace above the city rooftops has resulted in this warm and witty book.

Highly personal and brimming with anecdote, history and insight, Joan’s experience of Rome and Romans is infected by her contagious fascination for plants, a hobby she shares every week with the Women’s Gardening Club of Rome. She includes an insider’s view of Italian fellow gardening-obsessives, and an authoritative view of famous Italian Gardens. Woven into her gardening tales are her informed views on everyday life in the city; of partying, politics and popes; of bicycle thieves and cat-catchers, and how to deal with those friends-of-friends who arrive so regularly in Rome with nowhere to stay.

Imbued with a special feel for history and human observation, this idiosyncratic study of Joan’s beloved home will delight armchair gardeners and travellers alike.

Genres: Travel, Italy, Nonfiction

289 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2003

Reviews

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐

[Maria Caruana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read - literally nails the experience of living in Italy.

[Emilie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This changed my life a little by turning me into a serious gardener. I picked it up at a fundraiser book sale at my son's school and casually hoped for some authentic Roman atmosphere and backstory about an American sculptor (her husband). It has all that in spades. What surprised me is that Marble was primarily a writer about gardening, and her love for the subject and all the eccentric Italian women gardeners she interviews is infectious. I figured if all them could overhaul an entire villa gone feral, I could reshape the environments of my two yards in the rock-obsessed Southwest. I ripped out half my front yard by hand and planted a cottage garden. The next year, I reshaped the back. Marble's memoir reminded me that travel and gardening are both transformative acts and deeply good for the soul. A quirky memoir with drawings.

[Bernadet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een korte compilatie van gebeurtenissen (sommige leuk, andere wat minder) die binnen een tijdspanne van 40 jaar plaatsvonden in Rome. Altijd met een kwinkslag!
Ideale (pre)vakantielectuur. Je waant je zo onder de Romeinse zon! (maart 2015)

Elf jaar later las ik dit boek opnieuw en besefte ik dat ik, dankzij Joan Marbles verhalen, enkele bijzondere tuinen ontdekt (en bezocht) heb in Italië.

[Cat · Rating 2 out of 5]

this is an unusual little memoir, mainly concentrating on gardening aspects in rome/ italy. However it also goes into the author's life a bit, but the stories are more like diary memories than anecdotes and it fails to be scintillating. However a good little thig to fall asleep to.

[Rhode PVD · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want that apartment!! The best bit was her description of the little potted gardens so many Romans keep on their terraces and balconies.

[Anna Ciddor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming story about living in Rome.