Back to the Future: New Guide to Forgotten Rome!

The Archaeology of The Eternal City will be published by Oxbow books in December 2000. This important book includes essays by a group of distinguished academics which present the latest research into various aspects of Ancient Rome. The final chapter by Hugh Petter, entitled "Back to the Future", explores the use of Antiquity as a source of inspiration in the development of Rome after 1870. The original research into this forgotten period of the history of Rome was carried out during his tenure of the Rome Scholarship in Architecture and the ARCUK William Kretchmer Award.

The chapter explains how the architects of Rome after the Risorgimento transformed Renaissance Rome into a modern European Capital, adapting and extending the established architectural traditions of their city to deal with the challenges presented by new materials and building types. The resulting fusion of their buildings with their older neighbours demonstrates how working within an established tradition can enhance originality, whilst ensuring that the new buildings sit comfortably with their older neighbours.