As anyone who has ever been on a tour with me—or any of the many friends who have come to visit and whom I have enthusiastically and indefatigably dragged around the city—knows, I am passionate about Rome's layers of history. (I like them even more then Rome's distinctive street names.) What gets me most excited is when I can see the archaic rubbing shoulders with the modern, when I spot ancient ruins that served as the shell of a medieval building that was in turn transformed into a Renaissance palace that is still in use today. It sends chills down my spine. In no other place in the world can you see the progression of time so clearly in the very stones and mortar that built the city.
Read More