Ancient Rome is still with us, more than ever. Every year, with new metro lines, roadworks, digs, restorations and repairs, new discoveries are made and old errors corrected – and new questions raised. This electronic book is intended as both a walking guide to ancient Rome and a resource for the city and the people who left their mark on history. Each of the eight excursions illustrates an aspect of the city from the foundation to the fall, and in passing explains the bits of modern Rome whose roots lie in that distant past. 

 

These walks are not meant to be a tourist guide of the "Rome in 3 days" style nor a nutshell guide to the well-documented and overrun sites such as the Colosseum and the Forum. Instead, they lead through the city itself, along paths that have been trod for thousands of years.

The heart of this ancient city, hidden during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, came fully to light after it was bombed in World War II. Today Praeneste, known in modern times as Palestrina, is a fascinating mix of classical, medieval, and Renaissance streets, sites, and buildings, dominated by its 4th-century BC fortifications and above all by the 2nd-century BC sanctuary of Fortune.

   The two walks in this electronic book cover the city and its acropolis, touching on its legendary foundation by gods and Greeks, its innovations in classical architecture, its golden age and finally its demise as Rome grew powerful.  Along the path, the legacy of the Colonna and the Barberini families serves to illustrate its troubled and violent history after the fall of the Empire.

Le coeur de cette ville antique, caché pendant le Moyen Âge et la Renaissance, est venu à la lumière après les bombardements de la Deuxième Guerre mondiale. Aujourd’hui Préneste, dont le nom s’est transformé en Palestrina, est un mélange fascinant de rues, de sites et de maisons datant des époques classique, médiévale et Renaissance, dominé par les fortifications du IVe siècle av. J.-C. et surtout par le sanctuaire de Fortuna, du IIe siècle av. J.-C.
   Les deux promenades de ce livre électronique couvrent la ville et son acropole, évoquant sa fondation légendaire par les dieux et par les Grecs, ses innovations dans l’architecture classique, son âge d’or et enfin son déclin quand Préneste est éclipsée par la puissance de Rome. Le long du chemin, l’héritage laissé par les familles Colonna et Barberini sert à illustrer son histoire trouble et violente après la chute de l’Empire romain.

Ancient Rome is still with us, more than ever. Every year, with new metro lines, roadworks, digs, restorations and repairs, new discoveries are made and old errors corrected – and new questions raised. This electronic book is intended as both a walking guide to ancient Rome and a resource for the city and the people who left their mark on history. Each of the eight excursions illustrates an aspect of the city from the foundation to the fall, and in passing explains the bits of modern Rome whose roots lie in that distant past. 

 

These walks are not meant to be a tourist guide of the "Rome in 3 days" style nor a nutshell guide to the well-documented and overrun sites such as the Colosseum and the Forum. Instead, they lead through the city itself, along paths that have been trod for thousands of years.

The heart of this ancient city, hidden during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, came fully to light after it was bombed in World War II. Today Praeneste, known in modern times as Palestrina, is a fascinating mix of classical, medieval, and Renaissance streets, sites, and buildings, dominated by its 4th-century BC fortifications and above all by the 2nd-century BC sanctuary of Fortune.

   The two walks in this electronic book cover the city and its acropolis, touching on its legendary foundation by gods and Greeks, its innovations in classical architecture, its golden age and finally its demise as Rome grew powerful.  Along the path, the legacy of the Colonna and the Barberini families serves to illustrate its troubled and violent history after the fall of the Empire.

Le coeur de cette ville antique, caché pendant le Moyen Âge et la Renaissance, est venu à la lumière après les bombardements de la Deuxième Guerre mondiale. Aujourd’hui Préneste, dont le nom s’est transformé en Palestrina, est un mélange fascinant de rues, de sites et de maisons datant des époques classique, médiévale et Renaissance, dominé par les fortifications du IVe siècle av. J.-C. et surtout par le sanctuaire de Fortuna, du IIe siècle av. J.-C.
   Les deux promenades de ce livre électronique couvrent la ville et son acropole, évoquant sa fondation légendaire par les dieux et par les Grecs, ses innovations dans l’architecture classique, son âge d’or et enfin son déclin quand Préneste est éclipsée par la puissance de Rome. Le long du chemin, l’héritage laissé par les familles Colonna et Barberini sert à illustrer son histoire trouble et violente après la chute de l’Empire romain.