Rome: A Cultural History - Softcover

Boardman, Archdeacon Of Italy And Malta Jonathan

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15 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1566563615 ISBN 13: 9781566563611

Publisher: Interlink Books, 2000

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The Eternal City has provided endless inspiration for religious thinkers, poets, artists, and philosophers. Boardman uncovers Rome's multifaceted experience, where each layer of development rests upon a foundation of a preexisting tradition. Maps and illustrations throughout.

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From the Publisher:

Jonathan Boardman uncovers Rome's multifaceted experience, where each layer of development rests upon the foundation of a pre-existing tradition. In a place where political and religious ideology has always expressed themselves through art, he also highlights a vibrant popular culture - from gladiatorial shows to the local Roma-Lazio soccer derby.

* Ancient and papal Rome: home of the Caesars, city of amphitheaters, temples, aqueducts and fountains; nursery of Christianity, scene of martyrdom, piety and scandal.

* Artistic Rome: workplace of Michelangelo, Raphael and Canova; the inspiration for Byron, Shelley and Goethe; the setting for Julius Caesar and La Dolce Vita.

* Rome past and present: city of pasta and soccer, capital of shopping and sex; headquarters of monarchy, dictatorship and republic, the Green dream of "Roma per Roma" in 2000AD

Jonathan Boardman is Anglican Chaplain to the city of Rome and previously served as a priest in Liverpool, St. Albans and London.

From Library Journal:

Aware that "seeing Rome in its entirety, capturing the place as a whole, has been a longed-for, but ever-receding, Holy Grail," Boardman, the Anglican Chaplain to Rome, weaves a cultural and literary guide through the Eternal City that reflects personal taste and experience. The author uses Rome's architecture and ruins to conjure up the metropolis as it stood during Antiquity, the Middle Ages, the Unification of Italy (1860-71), and the fascist era. He draws insightful parallels between the past and present, likening, for instance, the notorious venality of the Borgias to the political bribery scandals of the early 1990s. Despite the occasional whimsical pronouncement ("Rome is a woman, but with a man's face"), Boardman writes in an assured, engaging manner, and his enthusiasm for his subject echoes that of such stranieri ("foreigners") as Henry James, Shelley, and Goethe, whose visits he recounts. Italian perspectives are surprisingly sparse, however, and readers may be surprised that Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck's Roman Holiday receives more attention than such Italian classics as The Bicycle Thief and Rome, Open City. Nevertheless, travelers to Rome will find this installment of Interlink's "Cities of the Imagination" series a fine complement to more practical guides that focus on hotels, restaurants, and museums. Recommended for general collections.DRichard Koss, "Library Journal"
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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