Rome and a Villa

“These essays gather up Rome and hold it before us, bristling and dense and dreamlike, with every scene drenched in the sound of fountains, of leaping and falling water.”  — The New Yorker

“Perhaps the finest book ever to be written about a city.” — New York Times

Bringing to life the legendary city's beauty and magic in all its many facets, Eleanor Clark's masterful collection of vignettes, Rome and a Villa, has transported readers for generations.

In 1947 a young American woman named Eleanor Clark went to Rome on a Guggenheim fellowship to write a novel. But instead of a novel, Clark created a series of sketches of Roman life written mostly between 1948 and 1951. Wandering the streets of this legendary city, Eleanor fell under Rome's spell—its pace of life, the wry outlook of its men and women, its magnificent history and breathtaking contribution to world culture. Rome is life itself—a sensuous, hectic, chaotic, and utterly fascinating blend of the comic and the tragic. Clark highlights Roman art and architecture, including Hadrian's Villa—an enormous, unfinished palace—as a prism to view the city and its history, and offers a lovely portrait of the Cimitero acattolico—long known as the Protestant cemetery—where Keats, Shelley, and other foreign notables rest.

Clark’s classic portrait of Rome captures:
An American in Italy: The story of how a novelist’s journey to Rome in 1947 transformed into an intimate and unforgettable collection of sketches on the Eternal City.A Personal History of Rome: A deep dive into the city’s past, from the sprawling ruins of Hadrian’s Villa to the quiet corners where history feels alive and personal.The Roman Character: Vivid vignettes that capture Rome as life itself—a sensuous, chaotic, and fascinating blend of the comic and the tragic, seen through the eyes of its people.Literary Landmarks: A moving portrait of the Protestant cemetery, the final resting place of poets Keats and Shelley, and a reflection on the city’s magnetic pull on artists and writers.