This book is a photographic record of a series of journeys made along five of the ancient Roman roads of Italy - the Via Appia, which extended from Rome to the great port of Brindisi, thus linking the city with the Orient; Via Cassia to Siena; Via Flaminia to Bologna; Via Aurelia to San Remo; Via Aemelia from Parma to Rimini (where it joined the Via Flaminia). These routes offer a natural framework to a record of the varied regions of Italy and how they have evolved over two thousand years - and an insight into the fusion of old and new that gives Italy its distinctive character. The journeys are rich in evocative contrasts, with the most modern expressions of twenty-first-century life played out against ancient backdrops. John Heseltine"s romantic black and white photographs will appeal to all lovers of Italy.