Rome, golden, eternally powerful, glorious, world-dominating Rome, sovereign of cities, city of cities, the fortunate, regal, holy city, the greatest of cities, seat of empire and glory.
In 1927, Ernst Kantorowicz summed up with this single sentence the eulogies paid to Rome in antiquity and the Middle Ages. The multiple layers of history that surround the eternal city continue to fascinate us today. With its extremes and contradictions, it remains one of the central points of reference for literary and intellectual reflection. However, although masses of visitors travel to Rome in search of this glorious past, they rarely take note of the contemporary rifts that divide the city today. Rome therefore has to meet the challenges of monument preservation and the historical heritage, without losing sight of current urban developments. History Takes Place: Rome, with contributions by young scholars from a variety of disciplines - history, art history, archaeology, cultural and social sciences, as well as architecture and urban planning - opens up new perspectives on this fascinating European metropolis.