Mirabilia vrbis Romae. The Marvel of Rome: Or a Picture of the Golden City

by Francis Morgan Nichols

Mirabilia vrbis Romae. The Marvel of Rome - Or a Picture of the Golden City is an unchanged, high-quality reprint of the original edition of 1889. Hansebooks is editor of the literature on different topic areas such as research and science, travel and expeditions, cooking and nutrition, medicine, and other genres. As a publisher we focus on the preservation of historical literature. Many works of historical writers and scientists are available today as antiques only. Hansebooks newly publishes these books and contributes to the preservation of literature which has become rare and historical knowledge for the future.

250 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1889

About the author

Francis Morgan Nichols (1826 - 1915)

Reviews

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Odd little medieval (13th c) tourguide to Rome. Points out the obvious that almost every church in Rome was built on the site of a pagan temple. This edition contains a modern gazetteer to help with identifying the sites.

[Csenge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know why this book is listed as written by Pope Benedict XVI. It was written in the 12th century.
Marvels of Rome (also known as the Mirabilia) is a fairly short text, written some 800 years ago, describing the ruins of Rome for pilgrims and visitors. It was written in a fascinating era, both from the archaeologist's and the storyteller's point of view: Rome had shrunk to a small medieval settlement, and the original purpose of the grand ruins had been forgotten, so people started making up stories about them. It is entertaining to read the off-handed comments about certain statues or buildings. The Mirabilia in itself, however, is a very confusing read, since it is mostly inaccurate, but it is hard to tell at first read. Which is why I loved this edition, because it comes with maps, prefaces, and a long, alphabetical glossary that explains and locates all the sites the medieval text mentions. A very useful resource, and a very interesting read.

[BEC · Rating 3 out of 5]

I usually really enjoy historical text, but I found this one to be a bit of a letdown. I had great hopes for this book (1st recognized travel guide book) and the introduction was interesting, but I wished it was longer. The main body of text is short. Reoccurring MO is, briefly stating general location (via land marks) then the name of the building, leading to what it is also known as, and periodically ending with, it has since been destroyed. Makes for an unsatisfying read. To me, it is like reading a grocery list. The maps are great to have, but many times the names they mention in the text don't appear on the maps. Sadly, maybe they should have left the dust on this one.

[Edwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

With another schooltrip to Rome coming up next week this twelfth century guidebook to Rome seemed like a good read. While it has some interesting and some really bizarre stories, it also has a lot of enumerating of ancient gates, temples and palaces, which became boring quite fast. Still, for a Rome fanboy like me, a book that lets me look at the Eternal City from a new perspective is always worth it.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fairly useful translation of Mirabilia. I found the index and the maps to be particularly helpful, and overall this is an interesting book that shows a lot about the history of Rome.