This book is a portrait of a more intimate Rome, different from the great beauty of its famous monuments and far from its chaotic traffic and hordes of tourists. It is about the small beauty that hides in the old city’s cobblestone alleys, courtyards and gardens, places often hidden in plain sight but that only a careful eye can find and enjoy. It is also about the people encountered there, whose candid shots are an essential part of my city’s portrait. I call this combination of places and people the “soft heart of Rome”, a physical and mental space where one can experience a moment of grace and enjoy the fascinating colours and the light of a more intimate city.

This book is a collection of 111 photographs that I shot wandering like a flaneur around the old part of Rome and that express my love for the soft heart of this chaotic city. You will not find the famous monuments here, nor a depiction of the problems that afflict the city. Many other photographers pictured those contrasting aspects of Rome. I just want to show how beautiful Rome can be, beyond its most famous sights and problems.

I self published this book on Blurb and will make no money from its sales, the price is the cost for printing on good quality paper. I just wanted to share the beauty and hope these photographs will make you want to fly to Rome. At the end of the book you will find most all the locations where I took the shots, so if you go you can check by yourself.