"The Ruins Lessonmakes one point above all: there was no single dominant way of observing ancient ruins and portraying what remained. Jessica MaiersThe Eternal City: A History of Rome in Mapsprovides a rich complementary account. . . .For centuries, as she shows, mapmakers and miniaturists, antiquarians and cartographers set out to do exactly what he thought impossible: to represent at least in part not only the city of Rome, but some of the ways in which it had changed over time." * London Review of Books *
No other city has maintained the story of its past in its present quite like Rome, creating an intentional palimpsest through incessant acts of preservation, reconstruction, and cartographic visualization. Maiers lively, imaginatively organized, and accessible book displays how centuries of maps not only tell stories about the citys physical development but also show how Romes narratives of itselfconflating eras, resituating buildings, compressing waterwaysunfurled in self-mapping from antiquity to the Metro. * Evelyn Lincoln, Brown University *
"Jessica Maiers The Eternal City: A History of Rome in Maps is a luxurious volume, elegantly and enthusiastically written, and richly illustrated with 140 well-curated color images of artwork, including maps of Rome across the ages. Maiers primary aim is to explore the history of Rome through its cartography, and she contextualizes the maps within their historical, socio-cultural, religious, and political backdrops. . . . her volume invites the reader on an imaginary journey through the complex topographical, monumental, and historical layers of the Eternal City." * The Portolan *
"Beautifully produced." * The Classical Review *
The history of Rome comes to life in this erudite, beautifully written book. Organized chronologically from Romes early beginnings to the present, this richly detailed history of Rome is focused through the lens of maps and cartographic images. Maier has written a fascinating account for both armchair and actual travelers. The Eternal City also has much to offer to seasoned scholars who will appreciate its coherent and fluid synthesis. * Pamela O. Long, author of Engineering the Eternal City *
The Eternal City offers the reader a vivid panorama of Romes changing form and image over the course of more than two millennia. A rich selection of city plans and views reveals crucial shifts in representational strategies, function, and symbolic intent. The dynamic tension between Romes complex, three-dimensional urban reality and the citys image as projected by successive generations of artists and cartographers is certain to engage a wide audience. * John Pinto, emeritus, Princeton University *
"The Eternal Cityis a brilliant history of Rome, focusing on how we have responded to and represented this ever-changing city. Digging down into both Rome's history and our own desires for this city, Maier has written a fascinating book that has changed the way I consider maps and history." * A Universe in Words blog *
"Each chapter combines history, urban development, and the history of mapping to assess in each period how the city changed and how contemporaries represented itdemonstrating how Rome has been constantly reimagined, reconstructed, and represented over the course of the past three millennia, both on the ground and on paper (or other media)... Highly Recommended." * Choice *
"Done very well, both in the selection and discussion of visual images and in [Maier's] considerate and humane prose style. A delight of a book." * New York Military Affairs Symposium Review *
