Romans do nothing by halves. Nowhere is the espresso more bitter, the monuments as grandiose, the intrigue so ancient and the style as contrived. This book sets out to show the true Rome and the true Romans. It provides a mixture of history, literature and politics via diarists and commentators who chronicle generations of Roman hedonism and decay. It offers information on the Rome of the Popes; the poet Shelley, in happiness and tragedy; Sheridan's unravelling of the curious story of Mussolini's son-in-law and the British ambassador; the Moro and Calvi affairs and other scandals.