RomaPolacchi

Robert Harris wrote Pompeii and Imperium (about Cicero), two fascinating novels that really brought ancient Rome to life. Now his latest book, Conspirata , is coming out in February, and will certainly prove to be as riveting as his last works. Conspirata is the story of Cicero's consulship and the years that followed-years rife with intrigue and ambition. Buy it now in the UK (under the title Lustrum ) .

Anthony Everitt, who brought us biographies of Cicero and Augustus, has just published a new book about the emperor Hadrian. While I haven't read it yet, I am a great fan of his last two books. Everitt is a conscientious scholar and his portrayal of Cicero was entertaining and intriguing. Augustus was a more shadowy figure and the lack of personal correspondence made his personality very difficult to pin down. I am curious to see how he portrays Hadrian, whose reign is well-documented but whose personal life was difficult to interpret. Read a review of the book in The New Yorker or buy it here.

Food Wine Rome , a new guidebook by David Downie (food and travel writer who has contributed to Gourmet and Bon Appetit and many many other food publications), is the food guidebook for gourmets who are visiting Rome. In his book you will discover the best restaurants, food shops, and wine purveyors. Even long-time residents of Rome will find surprises in this beautifully designed and illustrated book.

What to do if you can't sleep in Rome? Hit Via Veneto Libreria (owned by the local independent chain of bookstores, Arion ), which is open until midnight on weekends. The massive store has a coffee shop and a great selection of foreign language books, including English. Yes, you can probably think of 100 things to do at night in Rome, but you never know when you'll need Henry James, do you? Via Veneto 42.

Angela Nickerson, the author of A Journey into Michelangelo's Rome , has published a guide to the Rome of Dan Brown's Angels and Demons . You can get this guide for free at Roaring Forties Press . Thanks eternallycool.net for clueing us in!

Want to rent a vacation villa in Tuscany? What about an apartment in Rome? The logistics can be overwhelming and the choices are too numerous to count. But there's no question that when you are traveling with family or a group, private residences are the more affordable and authentic way to travel. Your Own Private Tuscany can help you figure out where to go, agencies to use, how to rent a car and shop in family-run stores for your superb home-cooked Italian meals. See the website for more details on how this book can help you plan your perfect vacation.

Set almost entirely in Rome, the movie based on Dan Brown’s book, Angels and Demons , will premier on May 15th. Word is that the moviemakers (including director Ron Howard) were banned from filming in any churches in Italy because the last Dan Brown film, The Da Vinci Code , portrayed the Catholic church in such a negative light. But apparently some shots of the Vatican will make it on the big screen- thanks to secret cameras! If you didn’t see the trailer on SuperBowl Sunday, watch it here.

L'Espresso, La Repubblica's weekly cultural magazine, has published its top restaurant choices in Italy for 2009. You can search by region for the best of the best in every city. Their top pick for Lazio is La Pergola at the Rome Cavalieri Hilton. Also among their top ten are L'Altro Mastai and Il San Lorenzo, two restaurants that the Modern Traveler has reviewed. Buon Apetito!

Another holiday gift idea for the young roman tic is the children's classic This Is Rome by Miroslav Sasek. First published in 1960, the book has been updated to reflect changes in the 21st century. Children and grownups who remember the book from their own childhoods will love the charming pictures and stories about the famous monuments of Rome.

Sharon Waxman's new book Loot: The Battle Over Stolen Treasures of the Ancient World takes readers through centuries of archaeological treasures stolen from their native lands. Many countries are now fighting back and demanding that their national heritage be returned. There is controversy over where these treasures belong and some of the most famous museums in the world are battling to keep them. The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the J. Paul Getty Museum are at the center of these issues, along with the Louvre and the British Museum . Waxman devotes an entire chapter to the fate of Marion True, the former curator of the Getty Villa in Malibu. See where Sharon Waxman is speaking next or listen to a discussion with her on KQED's FORUM show.

If some little girl you know is a fan of the Madeline series (or you are!), the newest edition in the series is about Rome. Madeline and the Cats of Rome is the first new Madeline book in 50 years and was written by John Bemelmans Marciano, the grandson of Ludwig Bemelmans, the author of the original series. Madeline and her classmates head to Rome for a spring vacation and find all sorts of trouble-including thieves and many cats!

Major foodie Robert Sietsema's series Eat Like A Roman on Gourmet.com is all about the unusual cooking methods of the Ancient Romans and how to bring them into the modern world. Recent articles include an attempt at Roman placenta (which is not that kind of placenta-it's actually a cross between lasagna and cheesecake!), garum (a fish sauce which the Italians still use today and call colatura ), and a simple cilantro, mint and feta salad that you'll want to make for your friends. If you want to attempt some Roman recipes yourself, try Mark Grant's cookbook, Roman Cookery: Ancient Recipes for Modern Kitchens.

San Francisco got a taste of Italy today when Giada came to Williams-Sonoma in Union Square. The Modern Traveler braved the two hour line to meet Giada and get her newest cookbook, Giada's Kitchen , signed. Giada is just as fabulous in person as she is on television-and even more personable. Find out when Giada is coming to your town !

No, this book is not about Rome, but if you enjoyed Philip Matyszak's Ancient Rome on Five Denarii a Day , then you are sure to get a kick out of his newest "guidebook" to Ancient Athens. In Ancient Athens on Five Drachma a Day , you will meet the philosophers, orators and artists who made 5th century Athens so famous, and learn a few tips on avoiding bedbugs and streetbrawls while you are at it. The book will be released on October 27th, but you can pre-order it at Amazon for 32% off!

It seems to be a trend nowadays to publish luxury city guides "for the discerning traveler." There are at least three guidebooks out there now that claim to offer a more refined traveling experience. Not only do these guidebooks cover fine restaurants, 5-star hotels, and luxury shopping, but they really utilize the help of insiders to get the most exclusive recommendations. The prices of the books themselves are also exclusive. The Nota Bene Review requires a year membership (at 495 British Pounds!) which entitles you to their printed guides and access to their members website. The Louis Vuitton City Guides are $110 and include 30 European cities. The Luxe Guides , which are really glorified pamphlets, cost $26.99 for a 3-city guide (which includes London and Paris). Readers: Are they worth it?

Yes, you love her recipes-but it's really her cute smile and sense of style that make you such a fan! Well, you have the chance to meet Giada in the flesh-she's going on a tour to promote her new cookbook, Giada's Kitchen , which was just released today. Check her website for the calendar of her book signing appearances and get your copy of the book signed by Giada herself!

No, this isn't a new release or even a recently published edition. The Modern Traveler has found herself with a little time on her hands (and not traveling to Rome, unfortunately) and so she picked up this book. There's a reason this book is a classic. Robert Graves , somehow, someway, made it seem possible to really truly know the heart of the emperor Claudius. It boggles the mind to conceive of the amount of research that Graves must have done to write the things he wrote. And what an imagination! What a joy it would have been to meet him. His translations and novels are so perfect-he is absolutely one of the great Classical scholars of our time. And I, Claudius is the pinnacle of his work.

The Dominican friar Giordano Bruno was burned alive as a heretic in Campo dei Fiori in 1600. The Catholic Church condemned him to this horrific death because of his radical philosophical beliefs-that the sun was the center of our circle of planets and that the universe was unlimited in its evolution. This belief, of course, contradicted the Church's assertion that the universe was created by a single deity. Galileo's discoveries 16 years later supported Bruno's beliefs, but when Galileo appeared before the Grand Inquisitor he caved in. Bruno never recanted his beliefs and paid the price. When the statue in Campo dei Fiori was erected in 1889, the Catholic Church still refused to recognize Bruno's ideas and to this day the Vatican expresses only a little regret for the friar's fate. A recent article in the New Yorker reviews a new biography of his life by Ingrid Rowland- " Giordano Bruno:Philosopher/Heretic. "

Brilliant Roman writer Elsa Morante led a life that some people only read about. Born in Rome, half Jewish, she married well-known author Alberto Moravia and spent part of World War II hiding in the mountains from the Germans who occupied Rome. Her circle of friends included famous Italian actress Anna Magnani and director Bernardo Bertolucci. A new biography of her life, Woman of Rome: A Life of Elsa Morante by Lily Tuck, whose own father knew Morante well, explores not only the chronological events of Morante's life, but also pays close attention to details such as Morante's style and conversational wit. Read more about the book in the August issue of Vogue (unfortunately not on-line) and in a recent LA Times article.

The Almost Corner Bookstore in Trastevere (Via del Moro 45) is the place to pick up English language novels, guidebooks and publications. The people working at the store are so helpful and ready to have a friendly chat. For used books in English and other languages, visit the Open Door Bookshop on Via della Lungaretta 23 on the other side of the Viale Trastevere (pictured). The atmosphere is everything you'd expect of a used bookstore-and even more so because it's in Rome!