{"id":1790318,"date":"2021-03-30T13:18:04","date_gmt":"2021-03-30T17:18:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/?p=1790318"},"modified":"2021-04-06T10:28:07","modified_gmt":"2021-04-06T14:28:07","slug":"the-eternal-city-a-history-of-rome-in-maps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2021\/03\/the-eternal-city-a-history-of-rome-in-maps\/","title":{"rendered":"The Eternal City: A History of Rome in Maps"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/a>Something I often do when reviewing a book is talk about it in terms of the expectations of its potential readers\u2014particularly if readers might come to a book with expectations that the book does not meet, because the book is doing something different. If you\u2019re expecting The Eternal City: A History of Rome in Maps<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, written by the art historian Jessica Maier and published last November by the University of Chicago Press<\/a>, to be basically A History of Rome in 100 Maps<\/em>, it isn\u2019t: the count is more like three dozen. This doesn\u2019t mean that The Eternal City<\/em> is a slight book\u2014it most certainly is not, though at 199 pages it\u2019s a bit shorter than, say, A History of America in 100 Maps<\/em><\/a> (272 pages).<\/p>\n

But counting maps would miss the difference in Maier\u2019s approach. To invoke xkcd, this is depth-first rather than breadth-first<\/a>: there are fewer maps here, but they\u2019re discussed in much more depth than the two-page spreads of the hundred-map books, and provided with much more context. This is a history of Rome in maps in which history, Rome and maps all get their proper share of attention.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Eternal City<\/em> is divided into ten chapters, covering Rome from antiquity to the present. Each of those chapters explores not just an era but a theme via close study of three or four maps. The chapter themes can sometimes transcend the chapter periods: the first chapter, for example, talks about how Rome has been delineated by its walls, and discusses how walls have defined what is and isn\u2019t Rome; Chapter Two\u2019s discussion of Roman travel networks invokes not only the Tabula Peutingeriana<\/em>, but also Sasha Trubetskoy\u2019s Tube map of the Roman road network<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Maier also asks deeply historical questions: in Chapter Seven and Eight, which discuss tourism by the leisure class (i.e., Grand Tours) and mass tourism (exemplified by package tours and Baedeker guides), respectively, the question of these maps\u2019 audience<\/em>\u2014where do these maps come from, and who were they produced for\u2014gets considered, which is something I\u2019d like to see more of. And in her close study of Antonio Tempesta\u2019s 1593 bird\u2019s-eye view of Rome, she notes what is omitted (the sex workers\u2019 quarter) and what is deemphasized (the Jewish ghetto).<\/p>\n

Maier\u2019s art-historian approach manages to extract the big picture from a close study of historical images. We are always reminded that maps are a means to understanding their object: in these maps that object is the city of Rome, but the Rome being perceived by one map is not necessarily the Rome seen by another. Rome as historical site, as cultural capital, as tourism destination\u2014and yes, as a place real people actually live\u2014exist at once. For Maier, Rome is a cartographic palimpsest.<\/p>\n

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher.<\/p>\n

Featured image:<\/em> Hartmann Schedel, Liber chronicarium<\/em> (1493), from The Eternal City<\/em>, pp. 68-69. Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection.<\/p>\n

\n

\"TheThe Eternal City: A History of Rome in Maps<\/a><\/em><\/strong>
\nby Jessica Maier
\nUniversity of Chicago Press<\/a>, 24 Nov 2020 (U.S.), 7 Dec 2020 (U.K.)
\nAmazon<\/a> (Canada<\/a>, UK<\/a>) | Bookshop<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Something I often do when reviewing a book is talk about it in terms of the expectations of its potential readers\u2014particularly if readers might come to a book with expectations that the book does not… More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1790323,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[],"autoblue_post_url":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,2],"tags":[30,54,454,1498],"class_list":["post-1790318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antique-maps","category-book-reviews","tag-books","tag-cities","tag-italy","tag-rome"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/eternal-city-schedel.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1789790,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2020\/12\/new-books-from-the-university-of-chicago-press\/","url_meta":{"origin":1790318,"position":0},"title":"New Books from the University of Chicago Press","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"14 December 2020","format":"link","excerpt":"I received as review copies the following books from the University of Chicago Press, both now available: In The Eternal City: A History of Rome in Maps, Jessica Maier \u201cconsiders Rome through the eyes of mapmakers and artists who have managed to capture something of its essence over the centuries.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antique Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Antique Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/antique-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Two books from the University of Chicago Press","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/DSC_1130-1024x615.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/DSC_1130-1024x615.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/DSC_1130-1024x615.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/DSC_1130-1024x615.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4068,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2017\/03\/book-roundup-for-march-2017\/","url_meta":{"origin":1790318,"position":1},"title":"Book Roundup for March 2017","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"28 March 2017","format":"link","excerpt":"Out this month: the English translation of\u00a0Andrea Carandini\u2019s massive two-volume, 1300-page Atlas of Ancient Rome (Princeton University Press), which\u00a0\"provides a comprehensive archaeological survey of the city of Rome from prehistory to the early medieval period.\" See the book's website. [Amazon] Other books seeing publication this month: Picturing America: The Golden\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/art\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/carandini-slipcase-224x300.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5046,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2017\/10\/a-history-of-canada-in-ten-maps\/","url_meta":{"origin":1790318,"position":2},"title":"A History of Canada in Ten Maps","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"10 October 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The odd thing about\u00a0A History of Canada in Ten Maps, the new book by Adam Shoalts out today from Allen Lane, is that it's almost entirely uncontaminated by maps. It's not just because the electronic review copy I received (via Netgalley) contained no images of the maps being referred to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Book Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/book-reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/shoalts01-129x150.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":513340,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2017\/12\/a-book-roundup-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":1790318,"position":3},"title":"A Book Roundup","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"19 December 2017","format":"link","excerpt":"The Routledge Handbook Out last month, the expensive, 600-page\u00a0Routledge Handbook of Mapping and Cartography\u00a0(Routledge). Edited by Alexander J. Kent (who co-wrote\u00a0The Red Atlas) and Peter Vujakovic, the book \"draws on the wealth of new scholarship and practice in this emerging field, from the latest conceptual developments in mapping and advances\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antique Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Antique Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/antique-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/social-life-of-maps-142x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/social-life-of-maps-142x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/social-life-of-maps-142x150.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/social-life-of-maps-142x150.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/social-life-of-maps-142x150.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/social-life-of-maps-142x150.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6123,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2017\/11\/2017-holiday-gift-guide\/","url_meta":{"origin":1790318,"position":4},"title":"2017 Holiday Gift Guide","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"22 November 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Every year at about this time I post a gift guide that lists some of the noteworthy books about maps that have been published this year. If you have a map-obsessed person in your life and would like to give them something map-related\u2014or\u00a0you\u00a0are\u00a0a map-obsessed person and would your broad hints\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Gift Guides"","block_context":{"text":"Gift Guides","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/gift-guides\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/red-atlas-115x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/red-atlas-115x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/red-atlas-115x150.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/red-atlas-115x150.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1818524,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2023\/09\/a-book-roundup-recent-new-publications\/","url_meta":{"origin":1790318,"position":5},"title":"A Book Roundup: Recent New Publications","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"14 September 2023","format":"link","excerpt":"Writing for Geographical magazine, Katherine Parker reviews A History of the World in 500 Maps by Christian Grataloup (Thames & Hudson, 13 Jul 2023), which was originally published in French in 2019. \u201c[E]ven with 500 maps, there\u2019s a selection process at work that may leave some readers wanting for specific\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cartography"","block_context":{"text":"Cartography","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/cartography\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Book cover: A History of the World in 500 Maps","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/history-world-500-maps-212x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1790318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1790318"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1790318\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1790609,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1790318\/revisions\/1790609"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1790323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1790318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1790318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1790318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}