Although this is a pretty old publication (1976), it has the classic hallmark of the Great Cities series, giving a thorough and insightful account of the city in its context, covering both the classical age and the modern period. The photographs show their vintage by the generally brown cast and slight fuzziness, but this only adds to their authenticity (no Photoshop here), and the aerial views of the major architectural features are excellent - e.g. the Spanish steps (featured also on the cover), which can only be appreciated in the whole, and not so much from the ground. An altogether delightful book (it loses a star only for its age), well worth the trouble of locating a used copy. ( )