Ancient Italy

With commanding skill, Thomas R. Martin tells the remarkable and dramatic story of how a tiny, poor, and threatened settlement grew to become, during its height, the dominant power in the Mediterranean world for 500 years. Encompassing the period from Rome's founding in the eighth century BC through Justinian's rule in the sixth century AD, he offers a distinctive perspective on the Romans and their civilization by employing fundamental Roman values as a lens through which to view both their rise and spectacular fall. 

In 390 BC, Rome was a burned city of thirty thousand people, seriously debating whether to abandon the site. In 264 BC, Rome commanded all of Italy and was putting an army on ships for Sicily. Almost nobody can tell you what happened in between. The 126 years between those two scenes are the least-known and most consequential stretch of Roman history. You already carry fragments of it: the Appian Way, marching under the yoke, war elephants in Italy, the phrase “Pyrrhic victory.” All four come from this century, and almost nobody can place them in a story — because the story is rarely ...

Before Rome was anything, the Etruscans were everything — and then they vanished so completely that we can pronounce their language but no longer read it. While Rome was still a cluster of huts on a hill, Etruria was a league of wealthy cities with paved streets, drained valleys, international trade, and tomb paintings that still glow with color. Etruscan kings ruled Rome itself for a century and handed the future empire its foundations: the arch, the drained Forum, the triumph, the toga, the gladiatorial games, and the art of reading the will of the gods. Even the letters on this page ...

Join Nicholas Foxe and his new bride Nina on a honeymoon turned treasure hunt.When a mysterious stranger hints at the existence of a legendary Roman treasure buried beneath the ashes of Pompeii, the couple is drawn into a dangerous game of cat and mouse. As they unravel ancient secrets, face off against ruthless treasure hunters, and decode cryptic messages, Nicholas and Nina must rely on their wits and each other to uncover the truth. Perfect for fans of historical mysteries and adventure, this novel takes you from the bustling streets of New York to the ancient ruins of Italy. Will they ...

Rome was not built in a day, but it has been blocking traffic ever since. Welcome to a city where emperors fought as gladiators, sacred chickens influenced military decisions, sewer covers judged liars, and anonymous statues insulted popes before social media made public humiliation convenient. Weird Rome Travel takes you beyond the standard ruins-and-gelato tour and into the stranger side of the Eternal City. Wander through the Colosseum and Roman Forum, descend beneath churches into forgotten temples, follow a papal escape passage to Castel Sant’Angelo, and meet the cats now ruling the ...

At the end of the fourth century, as the power of Rome faded and Constantinople became the seat of empire, a new capital city was rising in the West. Here, in Ravenna on the coast of Italy, Arian Goths and Catholic Romans competed to produce an unrivaled concentration of buildings and astonishing mosaics. For three centuries, the city attracted scholars, lawyers, craftsmen, and religious luminaries, becoming a true cultural and political capital.

One powerful family holds a city, a faith, and a woman in its grasp—from the national bestselling author of Daughters of Rome and Mistress of Rome. Rome, 1492. The Holy City is drenched with blood and teeming with secrets. A pope lies dying and the throne of God is left vacant, a prize awarded...

From the author of the acclaimed Pulitzer Prize–winning #1 New York Times bestseller All the Light We Cannot See and Cloud Cuckoo Land, a "dazzling" (Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran) travel memoir about art, new parenthood, and adventures in Rome. Anthony Doerr has received...

#1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER "Terrific . . . gripping . . . A literally shattering climax."—The New York Times Book Review All along the Mediterranean coast, the Roman empire’s richest citizens are relaxing in their luxurious villas, enjoying the last days of summer. The world’s largest...

A History of Rome is the story of a tiny market town on the Tiber, its rise to world domination, and then its slow, terrible plunge to utter ruin. It is the single greatest event in all human history.

The story of Emperor Nero and the building of his Golden Palace. The reconstruction of the great fire of 64 AD, which destroyed the capital of the Empire, and the golden palace of Nero in a new production by Altair4 Multimedia & LA CASE Books: from the crumbling insulae of the Suburra to the sumptuous architecture of the Domus Aurea, from Nero's artificial lake to the Colosseum, from the Neronian porticoes on the Via Sacra to the glories of the Imperial Fora, from the imposing bulk of the Colossus of Nero to the architectural revolution of the Octagonal Hall.

When Livy began his epic The History of Rome, he had no idea of the fame and fortune he would eventually attain. He would go on to become the most widely read writer in the Roman Empire and was eagerly sought out and feted like a modern celebrity. And his fame continued to grow after his death. His bombastic style, his intricate and complex sentence structure, and his flair for powerfully recreating the searing drama of historical incidents made him a favorite of teachers and pupils alike.

Pompeii, Paused is a modern traveler’s companion to the world’s most complete ancient city—part practical playbook, part quiet meditation. Instead of skimming ruins, you’ll read a living city: streets engineered for storms and carts, fountains that double as wayfinding, baths as social architecture, bakeries as urban engines. Inside, you’ll find three smart routes—a 2‑hour essentials loop, a half‑day circuit with depth, and a full‑day immersion—each paced for real feet on uneven stone. Crowd and heat strategies keep you comfortable; safety, accessibility, and etiquette ...

A mysterious forger. A plot to empty the world’s museums. Can this champion of culture stop it before all our history is fake? A forensic audit at the Vatican Museum reveals looting on a grand scale. A corrupt antiquities dealer has been plundering Europe's institutions—replacing priceless originals with copies. Darwin Lacroix, the Pope’s new Director of Special Archaeological Investigations, is repulsed by self-serving curators, profit-hungry auction houses, and secretive government Freeports. But he cannot stem the loss of artistic heritage. Until a sale goes wrong. When a ...

A wildly imaginative novel about a man who is reincarnated over ten thousand lifetimes to be with his one true love: Death herself. “This book made me laugh out loud. And then a page later, it made me sob. Reminiscent of Tom Robbins and Christopher Moore, Poore finds humor in the dark...

The Roman Republic, and later the Roman Empire, was an unusual conqueror because it would absorb and assimilate elements of the cultures it dominated. A standing practice was to allow the defeated to continue practicing their culture and religion so long as they paid their taxes on time. Such a procedure was part of why Christianity would seep into the Roman Empire around the 1st century CE, for example. For the Etruscans, this meant they influenced aspects of Roman civilization, one of the most powerful cultures in the history of the Western world.

A bestselling Italian writer makes her American debut with this delightful dramedy of manners, family, romance, and fashion that is set on the island of Sardinia at the end of the nineteenth century—a dazzling and original literary blend of Jane Austen and Adriana Trigiani. In 1900 Sardinia, a...

Readers’ Favorite 5-Star Award A captivating historical novel with spell-binding mysteries, inspired by actual people, places and events. B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree A compelling novel with several sub-stories in different settings and time periods that bring life to each one. Helen Ainsley is a best-selling mystery writer struggling with cancer. She returns to her childhood home in rural Brattleboro Vermont for the serenity she hopes will rekindle her imagination. Ainsley Hill Farm was originally an Inn dating back to the American Revolution. With a new-found friend, an old golden ...

He was the Golden Boy of Rome. But in the shadows, an Emperor’s spy was watching. Step back in time to the year 17 CE, when the Roman Empire ruled the world and one man was more famous than any movie star. His name was Germanicus, a brilliant general loved by the people and feared by his enemies. But his greatest enemy wasn't on the battlefield—it was his own adopted father, the jealous Emperor Tiberius. In The Spy Who Started a War, young historians will uncover a true story of jealousy, betrayal, and political intrigue that reads like a modern thriller. When Tiberius sends Germanicus ...

The Aeneid represents one of the greatest cultural and artistic achievements of Western Civilization. Within the brooding and melancholy atmosphere of Virgil's pious masterpiece lies the mythic story of Aeneas and his flight from burning Troy, taking with him across the Mediterranean the survivors of the Greek onslaught. Aeneas, after many travails and adventures, including a love affair with Dido Queen of Carthage and a visit to the underworld to see his father, ends up in Italy.