Loyola University Chicago

Although the academic year begins with orientation in Rome, students should begin to prepare in advance. Aside from language preparation and course selection, students should read as much as possible about Italy and its people.

The list of recommended readings in this booklet offers a guide to appropriate materials which are available in university and public libraries and specialty bookstores. Former students of the Rome Center suggest that prospective students contact their nearest Italian Consulate or Cultural Office for further information. Foreign Study advisors and the Italian department of students' home universities will have information and materials that will provide further direction.

For more travel details, interested students can contact the various national information, tourist and railroad offices of individual countries. Branches of these offices can be found in the major American cities. Passport bureaus have available more travel leaflets put out by the Department of State, free for the asking, for example, Custom Hints for Returning U.S. Residents -- Know Before You Go, and Your Trip Abroad.

Hertling, Ludwig and Engelbert Kirschbaum.
The Roman Catacombs and Their Martyrs.
London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 1960.
A guide and history to the Roman catacombs.

MacKendrick, Paul.
The Mute Stones Speak: The Story of Archaeology in Italy.
2nd. ed., W.W. Norton.

Cola, Helen Harris.
Instant Roman Living.
Rome: R. Ambrosini, 1973.
How to settle down into the Roman way of life.

Macadam, A., ed.
Blue Guide; Rome and Environs.
5th ed., W. W. Norton, 1998.
The most detailed guide book to Rome and its immediate environs.

Masson, Georgina.
The Companion Guide to Rome.
Prentice-Hall.
Perhaps the most readable guide book to Rome.

Rossiter, Stuart, ed.
Blue Guide: Rome and Environs,
London: Ernest Benn Ltd., 1971.
An excellent and detailed guide book to Rome and its immediate environs.

Barrow, R.H.
The Romans.
Penguin Books, Inc., 1968.
A study of the development and influence of the Roman civilization.

Cronin, Vincent.
The Florentine Renaissance.
London: Wm. Collins Sons & Co. Ltd., 1972.
A detailed study of the Florentine Renaissance, its artists and politicians.

Cronin, Vincent.
The Flowering of the Renaissance.
London: Wm. Collins & Co. Ltd., 1972.
An interesting study of the historical, political and religious setting of the Italian Renaissance.

Hauser, E.
Italy: A Cultural Guide.
Atheneum Press, 1981.
A series of excellent essays on everything from A to Z in Italian history.

Hay, Dennis.
The Italian Renaissance in its Historical Background.
Cambridge University. 1977, 2nd ed.

Hearder, H. and D.P. Waley, eds.
A Short History of Italy from Classical Times to the Present Day.
London: Cambridge University Press, 1963.
A good introduction to Italy from pre-Roman times to the political crisis of 1960.

Mallett, Michael.
The Borgias.
London: Paladin, 1972.
The fascinating history of one of Europe's most notorious families.

Mertz, Richard.
Two Thousand Years in Rome.
London: Dent & Sons Ltd., 1972.
A chronological guide to Rome, placing its works of art, monuments and history into a modern perspective.

Partner, P.
Renaissance Rome: 1500-1559.
University of California Press.

Roberts, Cecil.
And So To Rome.
London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1962.
A portrait of Roman life for the past two thousand years.

Smith, Denis M.
Italy: A Modern History.
University of Michigan Press.

Alazard, Jean.
The Florentine Portrait.
New York: Schocken Books, 1968.
A study of the Italian portrait before and after Leonardo da Vinci.

Berenson, Bernhard.
The Italian Painters of the Renaissance.
Cornell University Press.
A study of the four principal schools of Italian painting: Venetian, Florentine, Central Italian and Northern Italian.

Hibbard, Howard.
Bernini.
Penguin Books Inc.

Hibbard, Howard.
Michelangelo.
2nd ed., Penguin Books Inc.

Krautheimer, R. Rome:
Profile of a City, 312-1308.
Princeton University Press.

Masson, Georgina.
Italian Gardens.
London: Thames and Hudson, 1966.
A study including the finest examples of the Roman, Medieval, early humanist and the Renaissance garden.

Masson, Georgina.
Italian Villas and Palaces.
London: Thames and Hudson, 1966.
The various architectural designs of Italian masters Brunelleschi, Michelangelo, Della Robbia, Vasari, Raphael, etc., are represented in this study of over 95 Italian palaces and villas.

West, T.W.
A History of Architecture in Italy.
London: University of London Press Ltd., 1968.
A concise survey of Italian architecture ranging from pre-historic times to the 1960's.

Wheeler, Mortimer.
Roman Art and Architecture.
New York, NY: Praeger, 1964.
A survey of the wide range of Italian artistic achievement.

Wittkower, R.
Art and Architecture in Italy, 1600-1750.
Penguin Books Inc.

Barzini, Luigi.
From Caesar to the Mafia.
New York: The Library Press, 1972.
A collection of highly entertaining and informative essays on particular aspects of Italian history.

Barzini, Luigi.
The Italians.
Atheneum Publishers. An entertaining account of Italy and Italian life.

Clark, K. Eleanor.
Rome and a Villa.
Atheneum Publishers. 1982.
A personal account of the beauty of Rome.

Crichton, Robert.
The Secret of Santa Vittoria.
New York: Dell Publishing, 1967.
A delightful tale of Italian village life during World War II.

Harrison, Barbara G.
Italian Days.
Weidenfeld and Nicolson: 1989.
A lush, compendious memoir of several months of travel in Italy ... adds a new dimension to travel literature - a sense of personal direction.

Nicholas, Peter.
Italia, Italia.
London and New York: 1973. A very popular general treatment.