The author discusses the many diverse qualities of Roman art in terms of its development within Italy and the Empire, but offers as well a perceptive and original account of the cross-currents between Rome and the East. His history is enhanced by hundreds of imaginatively chosen reproductions, which have been specially selected to accompany each section of the text - brilliant and faithful photographs of Rome's great temples, palaces, circuses, viaducts, frescoes and scuptures, and even of the Romans' daily utensils and pottery.