In Civilization and Its Discontents Sigmund Freud claimed that Rome must be comprehended as not a human dwelling place but a mental entity in which the palaces of the Caesars still stand alongside modern apartment buildings in layers of brick mortar and memory The observer would need merely to shift the focus of his eyes perhaps or change his position in order to call up a view of either the one or the other In this one of a kind book historian Richard Bosworth accepts Freud s challenge drawing upon his expertise in Italian pasts to explore the many layers of history found within the Eternal City Often beginning his analysis with sites and monuments that can still be found in contemporary Rome Bosworth expands his scope to review how political groups of different eras the Catholic Church makers of the Italian nation Fascists and ordinary Romans be they citizens immigrants or tourists read meaning into the city around them Weaving in the city s quintessential figures Garibaldi Pius XII Mussolini and Berlusconi and architectural icons the Vatican St Peter s Basilica the Victor Emmanuel Monument and EUR with those forgotten or unknown Bosworth explores the many histories that whisper their rival and competing messages and seek to impose their truth upon the passing crowds But as this delightful study will reveal Rome that magisterial palimpsest has never accepted a single reading of its historic meaning

Whispering City PDF

The list of books you might like