Rome matters. If there’s one thread that unites the essays in this booklet and the docents who wrote them it’s this simple revelation. Whether we’re talking about Tom Rankin in his work as director of the American Institute for Roman Culture, Lindsey Schneider finishing up her dissertation on Baroque art, or Frank Dabell as he lectures on-site to his students—to a person, these scholars and professionals are in love with Rome and understand that perhaps no other city is as central to western history as this one.