A Profile of Ancient Rome

Flavio Conti

During the thousand-year history of ancient Rome, the Romans developed a vast and sophisticated society that would produce a lasting legacy for Western culture. This book offers a highly readable overview of all facets of ancient Roman society, including chapters devoted to Rome's economic and social system, its art and architecture—including large-scale building projects such as the Forum, the Colosseum, and the Appian Way—and the everyday life of its inhabitants. Presented here are not only the accomplishments of the most eminent citizens of ancient Rome, such as Julius Caesar, Cicero, and Seneca, but also the fascinating and often surprising details about the activities, customs, and beliefs of common people; matrons and children, soldiers and tax collectors, musicians and craftsmen, slaves and poets.

This attractive, illustrated reference book will be an essential addition to any institutional, public, or home library.

Flavio Conti is a professor at the Facolt di Architettura del Politecnico in Milan, Italy, and the chief associate of a firm specializing in architecture, design, and restoration.