Not Built in a Day

A loving, personable, and instructive analysis of the architectural pleasures of Rome―with detailed maps for walking tours.

Not Built in a Day: Exploring the Architecture of Rome is a unique, unconventional guide and a deeply felt homage to Rome and its extraordinary two,500-year history. Moving beyond the names, dates, and statistics of ordinary guidebooks, George Sullivan's eye-opening essays celebrate the special character of Rome's buildings, fountains, piazzas, streets, and ruins. From the largest landmark down to the smallest hidden gem, Not Built in a Day explores the city in comprehensive detail, offering detailed visual and historical analyses that enable readers to see and understand exactly what makes the architecture of Rome so important, influential, and fascinating.

“Clean prose and profound knowledge―just the book for when the Eternal City beckons.” ―Frances Mayes, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Under the Tuscan Sun

George H. Sullivan is a veteran travel writer whose work includes walking tours of both Florence and Vienna for Fodor's Travel Guides. He spent fifteen years researching and writing the essays that became Not Built in a Day and he lectures regularly on Roman architecture at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. He lives in Alexandria, Virginia.