[Photo provided to China Daily]

Rome: The Biography of a City

British historian Christopher Hibbert said in the foreword of the book: "Although this book is intended to be an introduction to the history of Rome and of the social life of its people from the days of the Etruscan kings to those of Mussolini, I have tried at the same time to make it, in some sense, a guidebook" for the "principal sights and delights of Rome".

Only recently translated into Chinese, the book was first published 30 years ago, and this is one reason why it offers an old-fashioned take on the Italian capital, especially compared to popular contemporary historical books that tend to highlight certain stories in order to widen their appeal.

In the last 3,000 years, Rome has not only been a city, but the capital of a country, an empire and a center for religion－involving countless events and numerous historical figures. Even after Hibbert's careful selection, key figures, after stepping onto the stage, are only given a few minutes to perform before they recede into the background, followed by many others. It reads like a collection of stories about Rome rather than a work that relies on the author's opinions.