Ivana Della Portella

I've always been fascinated by what lies under the cities .....the hidden history and this is certainly the case in Rome which is build on the successive ruins of earlier structures. This book investigates the buildings that lie beneath the surface: tombs, chapels, Mithraic rites caves, temples, churches etc. What amazed me was the powerful vaults that hold up the roofs. I guess, only the powerful vaults are still standing and holding up the structures above. Weaker vaults would have collapsed and there would be nothing to show underground except broken rubble.
But the book is a bit repetitive; a little boring, doesn't really grab the imagination and although the photographs are fine it's not a book I especially want to keep or would refer back to. The section on the Mithraic rites was interesting. And there were a few other interesting insights but overall I only rate it two stars.… (mere)