Overview

There can be few more historic places in the world. Caesar was cremated there. Charles V and Mussolini rode by it in triumph. Napoleon celebrated his Festival of Liberty there. David Watkin's Forum is the site as it was famous for centuries, celebrated in the romantic views of the Grand Tour, not the archaeologists' building site it has become. He helps us rediscover the Forum's rich history during and since antiquity, and that of the remarkable buildings which later centuries have added to this evocative place.

Full Product Details

9781861978059

Table of Contents

Reviews

'This charming and erudite book not only reveals much about the history of its subject; it stands as a humanist reproach to the scientific philistinism of our times.' - Allan Massie, Literary Review 'An excellent, handy new book... More successfully than any author before him, Watkin makes his reader aware of the multilayered, fascinating history of the site' - Masolino D'Amico, TLS 'With verve, authority and no little humour, Watkin tells the detailed and complex story of this great but mutilated landmark... it is an almost impossible task, superbly done' Peter Jones, BBC History Magazine 'In this sprightly volume... the distinguished architectural historian David Watkin charts the shifting fortunes of the site... he has an engagingly romantic feeling for the place... deploying a good deal of sharp wit, he reveals how the relatively recent obsession with recovering the Forum's classical past has led to much unhappy destruction and much less scarcely happy invention' Matthew Sturgis, Country Life

'This charming and erudite book not only reveals much about the history of its subject; it stands as a humanist reproach to the scientific philistinism of our times.' - Allan Massie, Literary Review 'Professor Watkin has an engagingly romantic feeling for the place... Deploying a good deal of sharp wit, he reveals how the relatively recent obsession with recovering the Forum's classical past has led to much unhappy destruction' - Matthew Sturgis, Country Life 'Watkin provides a challenging new perspective on Rome's ancient heart.' - Nick Rennison, Sunday Times 'An excellent, handy new book... More successfully than any author before him, Watkin makes his reader aware of the multilayered, fascinating history of the site' - Masolino D'Amico, TLS 'With verve, authority and no little humour, Watkin tells the detailed and complex story of this great but mutilated landmark... it is an almost impossible task, superbly done' Peter Jones, BBC History Magazine 'In this sprightly volume... the distinguished architectural historian David Watkin charts the shifting fortunes of the site... he has an engagingly romantic feeling for the place... deploying a good deal of sharp wit, he reveals how the relatively recent obsession with recovering the Forum's classical past has led to much unhappy destruction and much less scarcely happy invention' Matthew Sturgis, Country Life

This charming and erudite book not only reveals much about the history of its subject; it stands as a humanist reproach to the scientific philistinism of our times. -- Allan Massie Literary Review An excellent, handy new book... More successfully than any author before him, Watkin makes his reader aware of the multilayered, fascinating history of the site -- Masolino D'Amico TLS Professor Watkin has an engagingly romantic feeling for the place ... Deploying a good deal of sharp wit, he reveals how the relatively recent obsession with recovering the Forum's classical past has led to much unhappy destruction -- Matthew Sturgis Country Life Watkin provides a challenging new perspective on Rome's ancient heart. -- Nick Rennison Sunday Times David Watkin's short, polemical, brilliant history...the painstaking explanation of the true history and origins of all visible fabric, in clear, authoritative but enjoyable and lively language that makes this an invaluable guide...read this: it will help to tell you who you are. -- Timothy Brittain-Catlin The Tablet Learned but lively... Informative... -- Christopher Hirst Indepedent

Author Information

David Watkin is Professor of Architectural History at the University of Cambridge. He has written major studies of architects like Soane and Thomas Hope and the influential polemic Architecture and Morality.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available