The Seven Hills of Rome, by Heiken, Funiciello and De Rita

Summary

Pro:

• Presentation of geology is accessible to all levels of knowledge
• Many excellent photos and diagrams
• Interaction of human and natural factors is treated superbly

• Some color figures would have added a lot
• Tourists will need a separate city map
• Despite abundant figures, there is no decent geologic map

• Wide variety of geologic topics arranged around Rome's seven hills
• Walking tours visit notable geologic and human landmarks in and near Rome
• Larger lesson includes the ways the city has sustained its vitality for millennia

Book Review

Rome is more than a tourist attraction--it is a center of civilization that has occupied the same ground for thousands of years without ruining it. Certainly mistakes have been made and earthquakes, fires and floods have happened, but "The Seven Hills of Rome: A Geological Tour of the Eternal City" explains that from ancient times the Romans prevailed by building well. Rome's seven hills are shelves of strong, lightweight volcanic tuff that were quarried for building material (and for digging catacombs). The local volcanic ash was used for the exceptional pozzolana concrete that still holds up after twenty centuries.

But the key to Rome's greatness was water: the Tiber River brought commerce from the now-landlocked seaport of Ostia, and the famous aqueducts, lined with concrete, supplied the people from the inexhaustible springs of the Apennine Mountains. Clean water is available throughout the city--Rome's famous fountains were built to supply households, not awe tourists. The authors, volcanologist Grant Heiken and two local specialists, Renato Funiciello and Donatella De Rita, point out that "Rome is the only city of its size in the world that is chiefly supported by groundwater in a sustainable manner."

Sustainability also requires wise management; what the emperors learned, the popes and people did not forget (for the most part). Their deep reverence for history has preserved not only Trajan's Column and the Colosseum but the peerless sewers and the Monte Testaccio, an ancient mound of 53 million broken amphorae and other debris.

"The Seven Hills of Rome" brings you face to face with all these topics and more through fine photographs and lucid, engaging prose. And three walking tours bring you to the rocks, landforms and structures themselves. Repeat visitors, even residents, will find this book a whole new way to look at Rome--and for those who have yet to visit the Eternal City it is both a powerful invitation and a challenge to look to your own city's past and future.