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Best of Rome in 7 Days: Recommended Reading & Viewing

Rome is overwhelmingly rich in history, art and culture. Any preliminary reading, viewing or listening you can do will help you get the most from your trip. For more information on any of these books, visit your favorite bookstore or check out amazon.com; for video information, go to imdb.com. Rick Steves guidebooks are available at our office in Edmonds and also on our website's Travel Store.

Recommended Readings

Non-Fiction

• The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Edward Gibbon
• Rome and a Villa — Eleanor Clark
• The Seasons of Rome — Paul Hofmann
• As the Romans Do — Alan Epstein
• Eat Pray Love — Elizabeth Gilbert
• Saints & Sinners: A History of the Popes — Eamon Duffy
• When In Rome — Robert Hutchinson
• Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling – Ross King
• The Pope's Elephant — Silvio Bedini
• A Literary Companion to Rome — John Varriano
• Rome Antics; City — David Macaulay
• Travelers' Tales: Italy — Ann Calcagno
• Marling Menu-Master for Italy
• City Secrets: Rome — Robert Kahn
• Culture Shock: Rome at Your Door — Frances Gendlin

Fiction

• The First Man in Rome — Colleen McCullough
• I, Claudius — Robert Graves
• Roman Blood (mystery set in Rome in 80 BC, first in a series) — Steven Saylor
• Silver Pigs (mystery set in Rome in AD 70, first in a series) — Lindsey Davis
• Cabal (mystery set in modern Rome , third in a series) — Michael Dibdin
• Angels and Demons — Dan Brown
• Open City: Seven Writers in Postwar Rome — edited by William Weaver

General Europe

• Europe 101 — Rick Steves & Gene Openshaw. History and art overview for the traveler; humorous and easy to read.
• A World Lit Only by Fire — William Manchester
• Innocents Abroad — Mark Twain
• Civilization — Kenneth Clark
• Connections — James Burke.

Rick Steves' Travel DVDs

For a fun, informative preview of your next tour destination, watch a DVD from our "Rick Steves' Europe" TV series! Our online Travel Store has 70 shows available on 12 DVDs (a generous five to eight shows per disc).

Films With a Roman Accent

Open City (1945) • Bicycle Thieves (1949) • Roman Holiday (1953) • Three Coins in the Fountain (1954) • Quo Vadis (1951) • Ben-Hur (1959) • Spartacus (1960) • La Dolce Vita (1961) • I, Claudius (1976 BBC miniseries) • Gladiator (2000)

Mood Music

Andrea Bocelli; Three Tenors; Respighi's Pines of Rome; Puccini's Tosca; Three Coins in the Fountain (Frank Sinatra), Big Night soundtrack, Claudio Villa.