Robert Venturi's Rome is a guidebook to the city of Rome seen through
the eyes of Robert Venturi, re- interpreted by two subsequent Rome Prize
fellows and architects, Frederick Fisher and Stephen Harby. Published in
1966, Venturi looks at architecture, landscape and art as different
manifestations of common themes. As students the book is fundamental to
the development of any young architects' outlook on architecture.
Venturi wrote the book following a two year Rome Prize fellowship at the
American Academy in Rome, and there is no doubt that the city had a
profound influence on his thinking. He used many buildings in Rome as
examples to illustrate his theories. From the Pantheon, through works by
his favorite artist, Michelangelo, and on to 20th century buildings by
Armando Brasini and Luigi Moretti, Venturi reveals Rome as a complex and
contradictory city.