Imago urbis

Excellent series of documentaries shot, if I am not mistaken, between the late 1980's and the mid 1990's. In Italy it is sometimes broadcast by RAI Storia, the Italian public television channel specialising in history, and it is there that I saw it for the first time on one of my many sleepless nights. In fifteen episodes it deals with various aspects of the ancient Roman civilisation.

It combines three extraordinary features.

First of all, it provides an accessible introduction to the world of ancient Rome without yielding in intellectual, even academic, rigour - small wonder, given that its list of consultants features some of the best Italian experts of the classical worldI (archaelogists, art historians and the like). T is not only visually stunning - photography is by Vittorio Storaro, no need to add anything; the text is also noteworthy, as it is also a crash course on various aspects of ancient Roman culture, accessible yet academically rigorous.

Secondly, visually it is simply stunning, which is not surprising, given that the director of photography is Vittorio Storaro.

Third, the mix of images, music (the score is by Ennio Morricone) and the narrative style makes for a fascinating, even mysterious, narrative. We are plunged into the world of the ancient Rome, a world very different from ours, and yet we perceive the distance in time and in views from a magnificent civilisation.

All this renders this documentary strongly recommended not only for history buffs, but also for people interested in watching something remarkable from a purely visual aspect.

PS If you understand Italian well enough, I strongly advise to watch it in Italian. In the original Italian version the narrative is told by Pino Colizzi, one of Italy's most renowned voice-over artists, whose voice adds is definitely the icing on the cake of this captivating series of documentaries.