Rome Then and Now [Hardcover]

Federica D'Orazio (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 2004

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.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Thunder Bay Press (October 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592232922
• ISBN-13: 978-1592232925
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 9.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #443,247 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Photographic Journey Through The Eternal City, November 5, 2004

By 

Simon Davis (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rome Then and Now (Hardcover)

I recently had the pleasure of obtaining a copy of this newly released photographic study of Rome and I have to say it fulfilled all my hopes in it's exploration of one of my favourite cities in the world. "Rome Then And Now", is not just a book filled with photos of favourite monuments or streetscapes, it goes much further and in its unique format explores the ever changing look of one of Europe's oldest cities. Frederica D'Orazio has chosen the most interesting idea of devoting two photos to the one chosen area or building and provided shots often taken over a hundred years apart to show the changes that have occured to the subject being examined. The left hand side photos generally come from the 1800's in black and white or sepia, while those on the right hand page are recent shots in glorious colour.

Of course Rome being the "eternal city", there is alot of history to capture in this type of photographic journey. The topics chosen are those that obviously have the two contrasting photos available but they in themselves are also very well chosen to display the rich and varied heritage that makes up a cosmopolitan city like Rome. Featured prominently are such well known sites as St. Peters, The Colosseum, The River Tiber, The Pantheon, The Roman Forum, Trevi Fountain and The Spanish Steps. The real fascination however is in the lesser known streetscapes where the real development and alterations to the City can be seen. Of particular interst are the contrasting shots of such places as the Via Condotti, Piazza Barberini, Trajan's Market, Circus Maximus and the Jewish Ghetto. So fascinating are the contrasting photos that you will find yourself sitting for hours comparing every piece of masonary, changed window frame, or different view achieved from a demolition carried out between the time of the two photos.

Obviously in a book devoted to photographic views the quality of the pictures is of paramount importance and "Rome Then And Now", has gathered together some of the best cityscape photos one could expect. The older left hand side photos obviously drawn from numerous sources are wonderfully clear and sharp considering their age and their often deep sepia tones contrast vividly with the superb and very sharp modern photos of each site on the right hand side. These modern shots really succeed in capturing the charm of Rome as a colourful, historic, but also very active and modern city filled with a vibrant population. The photography is clear and makes great use of light and shadow to bring out the best in each site being examined.

"Rome Then And Now", is a photographic gem and is ideally suited to the armchair traveller or those like myself who want to revisit many of the much loved places in Rome that they might have seen first hand. The opening historical run down of Rome's history from a humble settlement on the Tiber to the great city of both the Roman Empire and now as capital of modern Italy is also informative and well worth spending time reading. I highly recommend "Rome Then And Now", devoted to the ever changing environment of this special city. Rome is a city of vivid contrasts and unique qualities and all of them are present in this superb photographic study. Enjoy

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rome wasn't built in a day - and this book is proof!, February 2, 2006

By 

K. Maxwell "katmax1" (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rome Then and Now (Hardcover)

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A question of angles, February 1, 2006

By 

Eric J. Lyman (Roma, Lazio Italy) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rome Then and Now (Hardcover)

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.