At last count there were close to 1700 novels set in Rome in days gone by. Most easily available in bookshops are those by Lindsey Davis and Steven Saylor . Both are good storytellers and excellent at portraying life in Ancient Rome. Particularly interesting if you are visiting Rome may be Saylor’s “Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome”, which traces the first thousand years or so of Rome’s history by following the fictional fortunes of two families. Each chapter begins with a map showing the state of Rome’s development at the time of the chapter.
The Santa Maria in Trastevere church, a symbol of early medieval Rome.
The classic work on Ancient Rome remains Edward Gibbon’s “History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”. This was written in 1782 but is still being reprinted. A marvelous book that covers Rome’s fortunes from Romulus and Remus to the 1970s is “Rome: The Biography of a City” by Christopher Hibbert (Penguin). An excellent guide book, too, although perhaps a bit too heavy to carry around.
English-language bookshops in Rome are:
The Lion Bookshop, Via dei Greci, 36, close to Piazza di Spagna. Lots of books and a small cafe.
Anglo-American Bookstore, Via delle Vite, 102, also close to Piazza di Spagna. A large store, with specialist sections. Strong on non-fiction.
The Almost Corner Bookshop, Via del Moro 45, Trastevere. Small but very well-stocked store on the other side of the river.
Some Italian bookstores also have English-language sections. Try the large selection of English books (but also French, Spanish and more) at Feltrinelli International in Via Vittorio Emanuele Orlando - or the smaller in Largo Argentina.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Rome
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Rome - updated Apr 2024
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Rome Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
