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2000s: An Italian family take the ashes of their father back to Rome and discover long buried secrets
The Eternal City
What you need to know before your trail
Gaby, the youngest of the de Angelis sisters, always secretly knew she was her father Enzo’s favourite; so when Enzo dies on the day her own daughter is born, her life is turned upside down.
In the emotional aftermath of the funeral, it emerges that her father has asked that his ashes be taken back his native city, Rome. Suddenly, Gaby and her new family are thrown headfirst into the wider de Angelis clan, and all of their conflicting ideas and opinions.
As the family journeys to Rome to say a final goodbye to Enzo, emotions run high; but none higher than Gaby’s, as she comes face to face with the man she once thought she would marry, and is forced to question everything of which, until now, she was so sure.
Travel Guide
Domenica de Rosa’s Rome
I’ve been here many times before of course, As a child, we had holidays in Rome every year: winters in the city and summers in Ostia Lido, the nearest seaside resort. We went to other places in Italy, too. Sorrento, Tuscany the lakes, but Rome was special because it was Dad’s place.
Her father wants his ashes sprinkled close to Trajan’s Column (Trajan’s Column is a Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, that commemorates Roman emperor Trajan’s victory in the Dacian Wars.)
Rome – the city
“The streets throng with tourists and huge coaches and the Italian disappear for holiday homes in the mountains or by the water. Summer in Rome consists of treading along pavements, dodging from shade to shade, avoiding the sweaty horses, than buying a can of Coke for two million lire.”
Rome is a masculine city:
Romulus and Remus, countless emperors, gladiators and senators, Trajan and his mate St Peter, the Pope, all those young men standing on street corners taring at passing girls with dispassionate lechery…
Crossing Water
Crossing water was important in Ancient Rome. People were thrown off bridges as a sacrifices to the river gods and a high priest was in charge of all bridges.
Vatican city
She and Anna go to see the Vatican city and St Peter’s Basilica. She admires the city but hates the amount of tourists and the fact that it doesn’t feel like the most important church in the Catholic world. Vatican means prophecy says a guide on the tour she takes
Booktrailer Review
Susan: @thebooktrailer
This is a really poignant novel. Three sisters and their mum head out to Rome to reconnect with the city of their father, taking his ashes back there as he wished. It’s also a tour around the city as the girls visit some of the sights and explore their connection to the various places. It’s a nice light read but with real soul and anyone who’s lost a parent in particular will connect to this novel in many ways.
There is also a great cast of characters and some real insights in to family dynamics. Sisters who look back on their own lives now they are having to face the end of their fathers’. Each of the sisters has their own opinion of what this visit to Rome should entail, how their own lives should pan out, what part of their past they hope to reconnect with.
There’s lots to enjoy here – the city of Rome comes across loud and clear and is a character as much as anyone else. A nice homage to Rome, its intricacies and the stories you can find within.
Booktrail Boarding Pass: The Eternal City
Destination: Rome Author/Guide: Domenica De Rosa Departure Time: 2000s
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