Roman Holidays

Featuring essays by twelve prominent American literature scholars, Roman Holidaysexplores the tradition of American travel to Italy and makes a significant contribution to the understanding of nineteenth-century American encounters with Italian culture and, more specifically, with Rome. The increase in American travel to Italy during the nineteenth century was partly a product of improved conditions of travel. As suggested in the title, Italy served nineteenth-century writers and artists as a kind of laboratory site for encountering Others and “other” kinds of experience. No doubt Italy offered a place of holiday—a momentary escape from the familiar—but the journey to Rome, a place urging upon the visitor a new and more complex sense of history, also forced a reexamination of oneself and one's identity. Writers and artists found their religious, political, and sexual assumptions challenged. Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Marble Faun has a prominent place in this collection: as Henry James commented in his study of Hawthorne, the book was “part of the intellectual equipment of the Anglo-Saxon visitor to Rome.” The essayists also examine works by James, Fuller, Melville, Douglass, Howells, and other writers as well as such sculptors as Hiram Powers, William Wetmore Story, and Harriet Hosmer. Bringing contemporary concerns about gender, race, and class to bear upon nineteenth-century texts, Roman Holidays is an especially timely contribution to nineteenth-century American studies.

Ancient Roman Holidays is a remarkable book that explores the ancient seasons and religious observance practices of the ancient Romans. Mab Borden’s meticulous research paints a vivid picture of the interconnectedness between mankind and the Gods. This book is invaluable for those interested in the religious traditions of ancient Rome. Ancient Roman Holidays invite readers to embark on a captivating journey into the enchanting realm of sacred days, months, and seasons, unearthing the profound significance of these ancient observances. Immersed in meticulously detailed accounts, as each sacred day unfurls, this book reveals the venerated deities and the intricacies of the accompanying social and ceremonial practices. Within the pages of Ancient Roman Holidays, the reader will discover comprehensive explanations of the ancient Roman calendar, forging a deep understanding of the interplay between celestial rhythms and religious rituals. The appendices provide a treasure trove of knowledge, mapping deity holidays to their corresponding months. This added layer of insight offers a panoramic view of the intricate spiritual tapestry that was interwoven throughout ancient Roman society. The reader will embark on a mesmerizing expedition through festivals dedicated to revered Gods and Goddesses such as Jupiter, Minerva, and Bacchus, delving into the wisdom encapsulated within the rites, ceremonies, and beliefs that molded ancient Roman spirituality. The reader will be transported to a world where every day bores a sacred connection to the divine. Witness the solemnity of religious processions and partake in the jubilant revelries of harvest festivals, as the ancient Roman holidays spring to life in vivid detail. These ancient traditions allow the reader to introspect upon their own spiritual practices, finding resonance in the timeless wisdom of the past. Inviting the reader to rediscover the exquisite beauty of these spiritual observances, Ancient Roman Holidays unveil the secrets and traditions that shaped the Roman calendar. The immersive journey through the vibrant tapestry of ancient Roman spirituality will invite the reader to renew their appreciation for the sacred rhythms that once resonated throughout the lives of these remarkable people.

With that genially serious attention to minute details, that humorous circumstantiality in treating the commonplace, which we have all come to know so well and to like (or dislike) so heartily in Mr. Howells, he has filled a substantial volume with his easily-flowing narrative of a Mediterranean vacation journey, naming his book 'Roman Holidays and Others.' The first landing of his party was made at Madeira, whence they proceeded to Gibraltar, and then to Genoa, Naples, Rome, Leghorn, Pisa, Genoa again, and Monte Carlo. The style of the narrative — if it is necessary to indicate it at all — is well illustrated by the opening words of the second chapter: "There is nothing strikes the traveler in his approach to the rock of Gibraltar so much as its resemblance to the trade-mark of the Prudential Insurance Company. He cannot help feeling that the famous stronghold is pictorially a plagiarism from the advertisements of that institution." Mr. Howells says of the Romans of these days that they have "a republican simplicity of manner, and I liked this better in the shop people and work people than the civility overflowing into servility which one finds among the like folk, for instance, in England."

Join Thea Stilton and the Thea Sisters on an adventure packed with mystery and friendship! The Thea Sisters spend the holidays in Rome!

This book explores how festivals of Rome were celebrated in the Greek East and their transformations in the Christian world.

Greek and Roman Festivals addresses the multi-faceted and complex nature of Greco-Roman festivals and analyses the connections that existed between them, as religious and social phenomena, and the historical dynamics that shaped them. It contains twelve articles which form an interdisciplinary perspective of classical scholarship on the topic.

Rome in the 1950s: following the darkness of fascism and Nazi occupation during the Second World War, the city is reinvigorated. The street cafés and nightclubs are filled with movie stars and film directors as Hollywood productions flock to the city to film at Cinecittà Studios. Fiats and Vespas throng the streets, and the newly christened paparazzi mingle with tourists enjoying la dolce vita. It is a time of beauty, glamour – and more than a little scandal. Caroline Young explores the city in its golden age, as the emergence of celebrity journalism gave rise to a new kind of megastar. They are the ultimate film icons: Ava Gardner, Anna Magnani, Sophia Loren, Audrey Hepburn, Ingrid Bergman and Elizabeth Taylor. Set against the backdrop of the stunning Italian capital, the story follows their lives and loves on and off the camera, and the great, now legendary, films that marked their journeys. From the dark days of the Second World War through to the hedonistic hippies in the late 1960s, this evocative narrative captures the essence of Rome – its beauty, its tragedy and its creativity – through the lives of those who helped to recreate it.