Rome by Robert Hughes

An exhilarating journey through the story of one of the world's most timelessly fascinating cities. For centuries, Rome was the spiritual and artistic centre of the world.

From its mythical foundation by Romulus and Remus to fascism, Fellini and beyond, Robert Hughes traces the history of this vibrant, contradictory, spectacular and secretive city.

The Independent hailed the book's "supremely eloquent vignettes of churches and palaces, statues and paintings...crafted with all the swagger and savour of a critic who can make his readers see and feel afresh."