The Foundations of Rome

What makes a great city? Easy: fun people, great architecture and cheap gas. But the foundation of all the great cities worth traveling to is the ground they're built on. "Rome's seven hills are shelves of strong, lightweight volcanic tuff that were quarried for building material (and for digging catacombs). The local volcanic ash was used for the exceptional pozzolana concrete that still holds up after twenty centuries." Rome is a fascinating archaeological layer cake, and it all begins with the geology. Want to know more? About's Andrew Alden reviews The Seven Hills of Rome: A Geological Tour of the Eternal City, which looks like a worthwhile investment for well-grounded Rome lovers.

And just in case you want to dig deeper when you travel, browse Underground Rome - Explore Subterranean Wonders Beneath Rome.

And the picture up there on the left? A tourist to Rome tortures her young 'un by "strongly encouraging" him to poke his arm into the Bocca della Verità, or "Mouth of Truth" in the atrium of St. Mary's in Cosmedin church. Legend has it that the bocca will hang on to appendages offered by liars forever, or perhaps until the next sucker comes along. The Bocca della Verità has a sort of underground history as well: it was a Roman sewer cover before its fame as a modern religious icon blossomed.

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