Rome is the city where past and present, spectacle and the everyday collide around every corner; where Baroque drama flourishes alongside ancient classical wonders; where necks crane to admire Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel; and where Fellini immortalized la dolce vita. This photographic portrait of Rome brings you all the history and all the...

Examines portraits of Rome's Vestal Virgins as artistic documents and political vehicles

A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice and a Washington Post Notable Book of the Year "This book resees its subject with rare clarity and power as a painter for the 21st century." —Hilary Spurling, New York Times Book Review Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610) lived the darkest and most dangerous life of any of the great painters. This commanding biography explores Caravaggio’s staggering artistic achievements, his volatile personal trajectory, and his tragic and mysterious death at age thirty-eight. Featuring more than eighty full-color reproductions of the artist’s best paintings, Caravaggio is a masterful profile of the mercurial painter.

This second edition examines all aspects of Roman history, and contains a new introduction, three new chapters and updated bibliographies.