Reading Around the World: Rome

Reading Around the World is a new feature that combines my love of travelling with my love of reading. Each month I plan to spotlight either a city I have visited, or a city I plan to visit in the near future, and recommend some of my favourite books set there. After all even if you can’t visit these cities yourself the next best thing has to be reading about them and living the experience through the eyes of the characters.

Rome is a city that surprised me in the best way possible, I fell in love the second I arrived there and it became one of my favourite places in the world, only narrowly beaten out by Amsterdam. Like London Rome is a city full of history, places like the Coliseum and the Roman Forum still standing tall for the world to see. I’ve seen all Rome has to offer in the two trips to the city I’ve been on – the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, the Vatican, among others – but I still want to go back one day and see it all again.

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Invictus by Ryan Graudin is a unique book. Not only does it show us Rome in the future but also the Rome of the past, when the Roman Empire was at its height and gladiators fought in the Coliseum. The crew of the Invictus travel all over time, from the sinking of the Titanic to the fall of the Great Library of Alexandria, but they always return to Rome, either the Rome of 2371 or the Rome of 95AD.

The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan is another book in a series that travels to Rome as Percy and the rest of the crew aboard the Argo II begin their quest to stop Gaia from waking. Annabeth follows the Mark of Athena along the River Tiber while the others find themselves battling for their lives in the Coliseum. The Heroes of Olympus series also show us the Roman side of the Gods we know from the first books. Instead of Poseidon, Zeus and Hera Percy and his friends find themselves dealing with Neptune, Jupiter and Juno.

Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor is the last book in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series. Where book one took us to Prague and book two took us to Morocco book three takes us to Rome and the Vatican City. As the angel emperor bring his army to the human world what better place to make a stand than a place they would be worshipped.

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Have you ever been to Rome before; what was your favourite part of the city to see and explore? Also what are some of the amazing books you’ve read set in Rome, or Italy, that you’d recommend? Let me know in the comments.

Let me know in the comments.