Rome is a city built for display and grandeur. For centuries it has been a place of pilgrimage for artists and art-lovers, yet many of its greatest treasures remain unseen by the public. In this, which was the first ever book of its kind, the co-authors penetrate the hidden world of Rome's historic interiors, revealing a side to the city which has been previously unexplored, while offering fresh perspectives on the less-familiar aspects to famous buildings. Superb color photography captures the diversity of outstanding interiors ranging, for instance, from the High Renaissance reception rooms of the Palazzo Farnese, to the Art Deco mosaics of Mussolini's Foro Italico.

This is a truly grand tour of this pivotal city, surveying Vatican apartments; palaces and villas; embassies; clubs and private institutions. It is an absorbing depiction of the rich interior fabric of one of the world's most magnificent and historic cities throughout the course of civilization.