Why does Rome continue to exert a hold on the European imagination? How did the 'Caput mundi' come to play such a critical role in the development of Western civilization? Ferdinand Addis addresses these questions by tracing the history of the 'Eternal City' through thirty key moments in its history: from the mythic founding of Rome in 753 BC, via such landmarks as the murder of Caesar in 44 BC, the coronation of Charlemagne in AD 800 and the reinvention of the imperial ideal, the painting of th