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Rome Then and Now (Then & Now) | 
 enlarge | Author: Federica D'orazio
Publisher: Thunder Bay Press
Category: Book
List Price: $18.95
Buy Used: $3.41
You Save: $15.54 (82%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 538548
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 144
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.2
Dimensions (in): 11.2 x 9.7 x 0.7
ISBN: 1592232922
Dewey Decimal Number: 945.6300222
EAN: 9781592232925
ASIN: 1592232922
Publication Date: October 15, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: ** Possible marking on cover. 100% Satisfaction guaranteed on all purchases. Delivery is 7-14 days for standard mail. **
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Product Description
Dating back to the beginning of the first millennium, some of Rome’s most famous architectural sites are among the most ancient in the world. They survive in an enchanting urban tableau of classicism and modern Italian culture. Here are all of Rome’s most famous tourist attractions — the Coliseum, St. Peter’s Square, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps — represented in dozens of photographs, old and new, that bring the great city to life.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 Mesmerizing June 9, 2008
This book juxtaposes photos of Rome from the past with modern photos. You can see the rise and fall of Rome through the changes in skyline and landscape. It is especially amazing to see not just what has changed, but the particulars that have stayed the same. This book is great for people who study Rome, those who have fond memories of visiting Rome, and even those who just enjoy history.
 Recommended, with Reservations December 20, 2007
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
As a lover and long-time inhabitant of Rome, I grabbed at this book when I found it on the remainder table of a major bookstore. The "then" part of the book--antique photographs, many of which date to the 19th century--constitutes a marvelous record of Rome's not-too-distant past. The "now' part of the book, however, leaves much to be desired. First, many of the color-photos are washed-out, apparently over-exposed. Buildings are white, skies are even whiter, and much detail of Rome's magnificent architecture has been lost. Next, many of the modern photos have been taken with a wider angle of lens, and from a different perspective than the original photos. In some cases, as when the ground has been excavated some twenty feet (e.g., the Campo Vaccino--now the Forum), accuracy of angle may not be possible; but in others (such as Piazza Colonna with the Antonine column) the same relative perspective is achievable. An egregious example may be found in the pair of photos, one of Piazza Cesarini, taken from one corner [The Via delle Botteghe Oscure? Apparently, since the author mentions the nearby marble-burning kilns.], and the companion picture of the Largo Argentina, taken from the opposite direction, looking from the back of the Republican temples towards the Torre Argentina and the Botteghe Oscure. Since the perspectives are different, the effect of the contrast is diluted.
Much of the value of a book such as this is to be able to view the same area from exactly the same viewpoint so that the changes in architecture and landscape become immediately apparent. And it is the changes in architecture and topography that are important, not the fact that men are wearing bowlers and driving carriages in the old photos, and wearing baseball caps and driving SUVs in the new.
One of the pairs of pictures that does work is that of the little Bramante tempietto of St. John Boiled-In-Oil. In the 1911 photograph on the left, the entrance to the Porta Latina is filled with rubble; in the modern photo on the right--taken from approximately the same angle--the rubble has been cleared, and cars are driving through the travertine-revetted entrance. Here, the differences are unequivocal.
Much of the enchantment of Rome derives from its juxtaposition of warm honeyed light and deep velvet shadow--an aspect totally absent from this book. As I said in my title, I recommend the book--the old photographs are of especial interest to anyone who has ever lived in this charmed city. Because of the largely washed-out modern photographs, however, I have recommended it with reservations--reservations on your favorite airline, that is.
Fly away and recapture the magic of Rome for yourself.
For every lover of Rome January 13, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
A beautiful book of photos, and a must-have for everyone who loves Rome.
Rome wasn't built in a day - and this book is proof! February 3, 2006
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
When you visit Rome, the buildings lend the impression that in many respects the city has not changed to any large degree in centuries. This book makes clear that while Rome may be "eternal" the architecture of the city is not!
This book has a simple lay out. On the left hand side of the book are full page 19th and early 20th century images of Rome (the latest being in the 1940s) - on the right hand side is a modern image of the same location. The older images vary in quality, but all are clear, my only complaint with the newer images is that they aren't always taken from the same angle as the older one for a true comparison.
If you have ever travelled to Rome this book is fascinating to browse through. Its amazing how much some of the sights of the city have changed in only 150 years. Mussolini made a lot more changes to the city than I realised before I read the descriptions next to the images in this book by demolishing buildings all over the place to make roads and restore some of the ruins.
 A question of angles February 1, 2006
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
It's difficult to stand in front of an ancient building like the Pantheon or the Coliseum without wondering what these structures and the surrounding areas must have been like in times gone by. Rome: Then and Now helps answer some of the questions that pop into the Roman daydreamer's mind, through the contrast of old and new photographs and well-researched supporting texts.
Obviously, by using only photographs, passionate Roman author and guide Federica D'Orazio can't possibly show us Rome at its peak. But she can show us how much the city has changed over the last century and a half -- complete with goats resting near Trajan's Column, country folk washing their clothes in the Fountain of the Tritons, and a food market filling Circus Maximus -- all of which gives us plenty more ammunition for absent mindedly speculating about the still more ancient past.
The idea for this book is so simple and elegant that it's a wonder nobody thought of it before: the left-hand pages feature grainy sepia prints of important Roman sites; the right side more modern photos of the same areas. And La Dttsa. D'Orazio doesn't just focus on the sites everyone has heard of, but she takes us down the winding alleyways of the Eternal City to show us some sites that many visitors fail to see (there are six pairs of photos from my neighborhood, in fact, a couple of which were very surprising to me even though I've lived there for several years and consider myself a history buff). There are 68 pairs of photos in all, the collection of which must have required an extraordinary amount of research.
I have some relatively minor complaints, though.
Most importantly, I think the book would have been much stronger if the modern photographs had been taken from the exact same angle as their antique counterparts. Sometimes they are, but most of the newer shots are instead taken from the same general area photographers must have used for the older photos, and in a couple of examples they are even taken from a different side all together. Shooting from the exact angle every time would have made the fascinating comparisons this book prompts easier and better.
Also, the texts are written in a way that in some cases reveals the sort of halting style of translated text. I have worked as a translator myself, and I know the work isn't easy -- perhaps my background means my eyes are more sensitive to these shortcomings (they are minor things, such as writing "Column of Trajan" rather than "Trajan's Column"). The problem is nothing that prevents the enjoyment of the book, but the test doesn't quite flow like something written by a good native language writer (though it is better than many other books produced under similar circumstances).
Lastly, I would have liked to have had a table of contents listing the photographs in order, and perhaps a text at the beginning describing how the project came about and the process of tracking down some of these old gems of photographs. But I suppose if my complaint is that I wish I knew more about the book, then in the grand scheme of things it is sort of a compliment as well.
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