Rome - Art and Architecture

This magnificent publication is comparable to the parts of Konemann's series on Andalusia and Florence. However, Rome requires more space and so the format is much larger here. After a sketch of the origin, development and structure of the city, art and architecture in classical antiquity and subsequent periods up to around 1800 are discussed; a final chapter is devoted to painting between around 1880 and 1940. The expertise of the authors guarantees that their story is not merely an inventory, but that their descriptions of sculptures, paintings, mosaics and buildings are contained in historical, especially cultural and art historical, frameworks and thus provide insight into lifestyles, ideas and beliefs. Christianity naturally plays a major role in this. It is an irresistible book, especially because of its design: the more than 650 beautiful colour illustrations, of which more than 100 cover a whole page, more than 30 cover double pages, reconcile you with the realisation that you are not there yourself.