Modern Rome (Paperback)

After sixty years and fifteen editions and reprints in Italy, this classic, groundbreaking work in the field of historical urban studies is now published in English. A masterful, fluent narrative leads the reader through the last two centuries in the history of the Eternal City, capital of the Papal State, then of the united Italy, first under the monarchy and subsequently the republic. Rome’s chaotic growth and often ineffective urban planning, almost invariably overpowered by building speculation, can find an opportunity for future redemption in a vibrant multicultural society and the enhancement of an unequalled archaeological heritage with the ancient Appian Way as its spine. With respect to the last Italian edition of 2011, the volume is updated, enriched in text, indexes, maps and photographs. Historians, urban planners, architects, decision makers, university students, and anyone who is interested in one of the world’s most intriguing cities will enjoy this book.

A renowned figure in urban studies and planning, Italo Insolera (1929-2012) was Professor at the Universities of Venice and Geneva. Specializing in the relationship between archaeology and the modern city, he proposed solutions for the correct (re)use of ancient towns that included traffic restriction, pedestrianization, and restoration. His remarkable talents extended to photography, strictly black and white, covering forty years of travels and of professional activity often practised through multi-disciplinary teamwork. Insolera battled against whatever diminishes the beauty of our environment and the justice of our society; his lasting relationships with environmental and cultural organizations, with citizen participation and protest are potentially his most important legacy. Of his many published books and essays dealing with the economic, social, cultural, and political conditions of urban development, this is the first to be translated into English. <P>Paolo Berdini served as the Head of Urban Planning in the Rome municipal government in 2016-17. An expert on the boundless Roman periphery, he collaborated with Insolera on the 2011 edition of Roma moderna. Urban planner and author Vezio De Lucia served in the Naples municipal government (199397). During this time, he ordered the demolition of some 400 unauthorized buildings, a record in Italy. The team of editors-translators is composed of: <P>Lucia Bozzola is an American writer and film expert and received a PhD in Cinema Studies from New York University. She has worked in the media industry for two decades. <P>Roberto Einaudi is an architect specializing in restoration and museum design, and urban and archaeological planning in Venice, Rome and Naples. He was also founding Director of the Cornell University College of Architecture, Art and Planning in Rome. <P>Marco Zumaglini is an Italian engineer. He has worked mostly on transnational projects dealing with the integrated planning of the environment with special reference to watercourses and cultural heritage sites.