On the bookshelf

Il cuoco segreto dei papi. Eminent food historian June di Schino and Furio Luccichenti, winners of the 2008 Bancarella della Cucina prize, explore the life, times and recipes of the 16th-century chef to the popes, Bartolomeo Scappi. Perhaps the most famous chef of his time, Scappi was also a prolific writer, leaving behind a wealth of knowledge about the diet and lifestyle of the contemporary elite. Replete with original recipes and historical anecdotes, this is a must for gourmets and history buffs. Gangemi editore, hardback, pp. 224, e35. In Italian.

Rome Remembers Her Liberators. British veteran of the 1944 invasion of Anzio, Harry Shindler, recounts his campaign to erect a memorial to the soldiers who liberated Rome. As a result of his efforts, in 2006 a memorial stone was laid in Piazza Venezia (and recently moved to Via dei Fori Imperiali just beside the Vittoriano) in memory of the men who fought to free the capital. For a complete list of bookstores in Rome where this title is on sale, see www.rinascita.it. Librati, paperback, pp. 285, e15.

Ti amo, (La) Roma dritta al cuore. Gazzetta dello Sport journalist Alessandro Catapano gives an account of the love affair between the city of Rome and its beloved football squad, AS Roma. Through the good times and bad, through championships, victories and downward slides in the league tables, the author attempts to justify the all-consuming, unconditional love Romans have for their team. The colourful characters who pepper his tale bring us into contact with a Rome where a true baptism consists of buying your very first AS Roma strip, or joining the ranks of the season-ticket holders. The 2001 championship victory for the giallorossi provided the author with