Customer Reviews

A Traveller in Rome

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There is a small, independent bookshop in New York dedicated to the Art of Travel. It is there that I've spent many happy hours looking through new and used books and maps- some treasures and some highly disposable.

One of the favorite places I've ever visited is Rome, Italy. And this book by H. V. Morton which is shamefully out of print, is positively the finest I've read on this forever changing, "eternal" city.

I'd never heard of Morton, but soon learned that in 1957, when this volume was published, he was "the most widely read living travel author." And now, according to research I've done online, every single one of his books is out of print. And he wrote quite a few: "A Stranger In Spain," "In Search Of London," "In The Steps Of St. Paul," et. al. Morton's method is simple and works perfectly: first a short history of Rome, then a diary-like collection of his thoughts and impressions. There are also several, wonderful photographs including a charming, color one of The Vatican's Swiss Guard---one man "at attention;" the other looking as if he had better things to do. Everything in the book is well-researched and very interestingly written, yet his description of the politics and history of The Vatican is especially fascinating, as is his description of Julius Caesar's final days. But the book is not all history. Not at all. We also read about the author's trip to an open market, Hadrian's Villa, and I particularly liked the passage about Rome in the rain, since when I was there, it rained every single day for twenty days. This is a book of fact that reads like a fine novel.

It is an absolute crime that Morton's books cannot be more easily purchased both for travellers and for people whose hobby is reading about travel. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

I am thrilled to see that "A Traveller in Rome" is back in print! (I have spent the past decade combing used book stores for books in H.V. Morton's several wonderful series -"A Traveller in...", "In Search of ...", "In the Steps of..." and others - and never pass up an opportunity to buy one when I find it.) Although published in 1957, "A Traveller to Rome" is as fresh as the day it was written (H.V.Morton was at his best when writing about Italy). The book is not a travel guide per se, but rather a sort of memoir of walks all around Rome into which Morton seamlessly weaves charming tales of his own experiences, his personal observations, and fascinating historical background. And what makes it all so delicious is Morton's elegant but unpedantic use of the English language. I have read this book half a dozen times, and it never fails to delight. I wholeheartedly recommend "A Traveller in Rome" to anyone who is going to Rome, who ever went to Rome, who ever may go to Rome, who enjoys daydreaming about Rome, or who simply glories in elegantly-written non-fiction. I look forward to the day when Morton's splendid companion volume about Rome, "The Fountains of Rome," is back in print as well.

Spending several months in Rome, living in several different locations to get a feel for the neighborhoods, the very observant Morton sets out his commentary and observations and amazement about a wonderful city over 2,000 years old. He weaves history in with the modern, and for someone who has been to Rome, the observations are spot on, even though they were written in the 1950s (his comment about Roman drivers is still very true today, absolutely on the mark, and poetic in his analysis). I read some of the book while I was in Rome; very much enjoyed reading it after I returned, and reread the parts I had read when there. This would also make a great book for an armchair traveler. This is travel writing at its very best.

Delighted to discover HV's classic 'Traveller' series has been reissued in paperback. Traveller in Rome is one of my all time favourite travel books. I knew and loved this book for a decade before actually trying it out as a city guide in 1996. It proved the perfect companion. HV is such an old charmer, strangely reminiscent of the late Alastair Cooke in voice. Get a copy of this book, find a comfy armchair, and escape to another time and place.

I have read a lot of travel books as Editor-at-Large for Travelers' Tales but this is one of the very best. Morton's grasp of history is nothing short of extraordinary and his powers of description, as a traveler, are almost peerless.

This book was order dec 13 and still has not arrived at a US address 7 weeks later????? Is there a problem sending books to Maui?

We are not far into the book, but we are enthralled with the author, whose passion is clearly history, and he takes us on a walking tour of one of the richest cities on the earth. He is wonderful!! My kids keep begging me to put aside the other studies so we can read this one aloud!! A true "living" book!

We bought this Da Capo Press edition of Morton's book recently, new, through Amazon. I used excerpts from Morton's timeless descriptions to make my own MP3 audio tours. Morton provides a high level of interpretation about the Capitoline Hill, the Forum, the Palatine Hill and the numerous major churches (with descriptions of their significant mosaics and sculpture.) This time, when I look at something, I will have my hands free and will listen and understand what I am seeing in real time! This time, I won't have to try to remember what to look for!

Morton's secret is that he not only travelled for a prolonged period in Rome and in Italy: he read widely about what he would see. H. V. Morton offers what few writers do: an informed musing and realistic recreation of Rome at most of the major points in its history: the Republic, Imperial Rome, its slow decline and fall, the Rome of the Popes, Napoleon Bonaparte's occupation, Italian reunification and even a bit about Benito Mussolini's Rome.

His approach as a traveller is to look at today's architectural remains and to 'flesh out' what he sees with a description of what happened there 'back in the day.' As a result, this book abounds in riches: he retraces Julius Caesar's route to the Senate on the last, fateful, day of his life. We learn that the normal Senate chamber, the Curia, was closed for rennovation and that the assassination took place elsewhere. We reimagine the House of the Vestal Virgins as Morton stands within its remains. Morton visits the House of Livia, probably Augustus (Ocatavian) Caesar's home and remarks that the rooms are less than imperial-size. He reports that Augustus was described by contemporaries as living an aesthetic life--even requiring the haughty Livia to weave the fabric for his togas herself. If we can imagine this level of activity, the visible remnants can take on meaning. Morton reminds us of the Rome that was governed by the Byzantine Emperors and points out that even the Popes of that (Pre-Catholic/Orthodox schism) day were Greeks! After his well-explained visit to the Vatican Museum, he takes a long lunch in a nearby back street restaurant and, skips the pasta offerings in favor of a meal of artichokes, jewish-style, a meat course and gorgonzola cheese. If Morton ate smaller meals in Italy, we can too!

These vignettes and many more like them, are brought to our attention in this book. H. V. Morton's readers travel with him...and we can retrace his steps today with his 'voice' in our ear!