For almost a thousand years Rome held sway as the spiritual & artistic centre of the world. Hughes vividly recreates the ancient Rome of Julius Caesar Marcus Aurelius Nero Caligula Cicero Martial & Virgil. With the artistic blossoming of the Renaissance he casts his unwavering critical eye over the great works of Raphael Michelangelo & Brunelleschi shedding new light on the Old Masters. In the seventeenth eighteenth & nineteenth centuries when Romes cultural predominance was assured artists & tourists from all over Europe converged on the city. Hughes brilliantly analyses the defining works of Caravaggio Velasquez Rubens & Bernini. Hughes Rome is a vibrant contradictory spectacular & secretive place; a monument both to human glory & human error. In equal parts loving iconoclastic enraged & wise peopled with colourful figures & rich in unexpected details ROME is an exhilarating journey through the story of one of the worlds most glorious cities.