Full Description
"I resisted, but she drew me back. I stayed away, but she beckoned me. I distanced myself, but she haunted me. I even rejected her but she did not abandon me..."
She Seduced Me is that rare book in which the reader becomes part of a magical world in which places, monuments and artists come alive through their stories. In this case, however, that world is Rome and the reader becomes a participant in the ebb and flow of the city and gains insight into why so many have fallen in love with Rome despite its faults.
This work of nonfiction is divided into chapters in which the reader experiences aspects of art, culture, history and the present through the eyes of the writer and of the inhabitants of Rome, past and present.
The journey commences with the reader accompanying the author who, standing in front of Michelangelo's Moses statue, mouth agape, almost hears the artist scream at his creation: "Speak!" From this an odyssey of wonder begins: what is the story behind the Trevi fountain, behind that rock in the middle of the Roman Forum, behind all those priests and nuns everywhere, behind everything one stumbles upon, wonders about and takes selfies in front of? The quest is to uncover those stories.
Author and reader continue to explore the life in the piazzas, experience camaraderie with street performers, see history through all the senses, get lost in Rome, observe Americans and foreigners, discover unique places to eat, speak with Romans, explore the houses of Nero, Augustus and Livia, encounter Caravaggio and chats with expats.
This work is a virtual tour through a magical city that educates and enthralls.
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: Stories, Saints and Weirdos
Chapter 2: Life in the Streets
Chapter 3: Artists and Performers
Chapter 4: Tasting History
Chapter 5: Getting Lost
Chapter 6: Eating
Chapter 7: Americans
Chapter 8: According to Romans
Chapter 9: Underground: The Golden House of Nero and the houses of Livia and Augustus
Chapter 10: The Impoverished but Grand Lady
Chapter 11: Caravaggio - narration
Chapter 12: People Watching
Chapter 13: Lesser visited: Palazzo Altemps and Ostia Antica
Chapter 14: Is it Dolce Vita? Expats
Chapter 15: Nocturnal Vatican
Conclusion
Acknowledgments
