Subterranean Rome

Beneath the pavements of monumental Rome, the Rome of the imperial Fora and the great basilicas, lies another Road, secret and less flamboyant, where everyday buildings open up to reveal unsuspected treeasures of art and history. This is subterranean Rome. Though perhaps somewhat less magnificent or picturesque than the city above ground, it is equally, or even more, evocative and fascinating. Like a kind of Atlantic, buried beneath its centures-old covering, its gardens, temples, baths and nympheums tell us a story of ancient times, made up of light and life, but also of shadows, persecution and death. There are also urban and secular structures like the quarters of the Seventh Cohort of Guards, or the famous Golden House, the Domus Aurea. With evocative photographs, several published here for the first time, this book reveals the hidden world of subterranean Rome, guides us through the most fascinating sites, in many cases unvisited, and frequently difficult of access. It repesents a journey in time that explores the most ancient roots of western culture...