The author's latest visit to Rome coincided with the 2000th anniversary of the death, in AD 14, of Rome’s first Emperor, Augustus. With very few exceptions (mostly a few Egyptian obelisks) the extant monuments and structures in the city date from the two millennia since his death.

If you mention Rome to anyone they will invariably think of one of the ‘Big Six’ sights of the city; namely, the Vatican, Trevi Fountain, Colosseum, Roman Forum, Pantheon and the Spanish steps. However, in September 2014 the author chose to visit some of the smaller, less well-known or relatively unvisited sights in the city. These included the best remaining examples of Fascist architecture, at the Foro Italico on the northern edge, and at EUR at the southern end of the city. Fountains are a characteristic sight in Roman piazze and this book covers many of these including several that he had not previously visited, as well as some old favourites.

The sights are grouped by the Rione (administrative division of the city) in which each is located. In addition, there are feature pages highlighting some of the more unusual or curious places in the city. It is places like these that add fascination to a city visit. There are many more sights in Rome that are not covered in this book, or indeed have not yet been visited by the author. It really is true that, as the title of Silvio Negro's last book says, Roma, non Basta una Vita (‘Rome, one lifetime is not enough’).