Product Description

"History buffs (or, indeed, anyone with a vivid imagination) will enjoy this witty and erudite—and most unusual—travel guide."—Chicago Tribune

This entertaining guide provides all the information a tourist needs for a journey back in time to ancient Rome in AD 200. You just have to pack your imagination and a toothbrush!

Here is advice on arranging the sea journey to Italy, how to negotiate the road to Rome, and what to see on each of the city's famous seven hills. You'll learn what to take to a fancy dinner party (dining robe, your own napkin, and indoor shoes) and where to find the best markets and public baths.

A series of walks takes in all the sights of the eternal city, from the opulence of the imperial palace on the Palatine hill through the bustle of the Forum to the grandeur of the Pantheon and the Temple of Jupiter. The largest and most populous city in the ancient world has over one hundred spectacles to offer, including chariot races and events at the Colosseum where gladiators fight to the death.

Philip Matyszak's ingenious book will appeal to anyone who has ever wondered what it would have been like to visit the greatest city of ancient times. 43 illustrations, 11 in color.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #169869 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780500287606
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
A deadpan delight...required reading for time travelers headed to Italy. -- Passport

An excellent guide to Roman life: pack it alongside your modern guide. -- Times Literary Supplement

Great background for those planning to stroll the streets of modern-day Rome. -- Virtuoso Life

About the Author
Philip Matyszak has a doctorate in Roman history from St. John's College, Oxford.

Customer Reviews

Take a Trip in Time to Ancient Rome
"Ancient Rome on Five Denarii a Day" presents itself as a guide book for visiting ancient Rome -- not touring the remnants of ancient Rome as they exist today, but a trip back across eighteen centuries to Rome of about 200 AD, with advice on where to stay, information about quaint local customs, and suggestions of "must see" sights. Oh, and there is a list of useful phrases for the traveler such as "Noli me necare, cape omnias pecunias meas" ("Don't kill me, here's all my money"). The result is a fun way to almost experience what life in ancient Rome was really like.

A Wonderful Idea
Ancient Rome on Five Denarii a Day is a wonderful book and a great idea. In essence, it tells you want you need to know, circa 200 AD, if you plan to visit Rome. It tells you about the problems of getting there, the problems of finding lodging and meals, and, of course, the things every tourist will want to visit.
As a history buff, I loved it when mystery novelists like Davis and Saylor decided to create detectives and place them in Rome. It's led to other detectives in medieval Japan and Ancient Greece. One can only hope that Matyszak's cleaver idea will lead to guidebooks to ancient Thebes, Athens and Babylon, or perhaps guides to Song dynasty Westlake or Heien Kyoto.
The idea aside, the book is well written and packed full of interesting tidbits. What's missing is a bit more in the way of illustration. For example, distances from cities were described, but a map would have helped. Ditto the major roads into Rome. And what I really wanted was a detailed map of the Forums, pictures of the major buildings, and a description of a walk through the various Forums -- rather like some recent guidebooks have done for the Grand Canal in Venice, or the Seine in Centeral Paris. Guidebooks have come a long way in the last 10 years. This one seems more like a guide one would have bought in 1990, not one of the beautifully illustrated ones you get today.
Congratulations Philip Matyszak -- you have written a delightful book and, hopefully stimulated others to create similar works for their favorate historical periods.

A witty guide to second-century Rome
I've read a lot of reference books to give myself a sense of what it was like strolling the streets of Rome 2,000 years ago. Turns out I could have just read this book and saved myself a lot of research! Mr. Matyszak writes with dry British wit and a sort of bifocal vision, not only reporting on what a tourist in 200 A.D. would see but tipping off the reader about what's going to happen to it over the next several centuries. It's a very easy and enjoyable read, peppered with appropriate quotes from Roman writers. As Michelinus would say, "Valet iter"!