This illustrated volume on "Plazzi of Rome" presents the magnificent residences of popes and nobles of the Eternal City in an extraordinarily comprehensive and vivid way. Each palazzo and villa is described within its art historical context. Brilliant photographs capture the atmosphere of these fine palaces and villas in their whole splendor. How tightly the histories of the Borghese, Farnese, Colonna, Corsini, and many other of the grand old Roman families are interwoven with the histories of their stately residences becomes evident in the effort they spent in the construction, decoration, and upkeep of the buildings.The reader will learn how the Roman high nobility was obsessed over generations by the ardent desire to have an adequate palace to represent itself within the City of Cities. The competition for the most sumptuous palazzo led to the creation of some of the famous works of art that exemplify the refined - and often revolutionary - tastes of the great art patrons of the Italian capital.