Missing Rome? Sit back in our armchair and let the sure-footed, no-nonsense historian and broadcaster, Simon Sebag-Montefiore, guide you through the history of the Eternal City – from the era when Rome was governed by Etruscan kings, to the glory days of the Republic and the Empire.

Sebag-Montefiore expertly takes us on a dazzling tour of Rome, feeding us the information we know we should already know, but have forgotten, and without making us feel like mere tourists.

We learn how future emperors became deified after the death of Julius Caesar – who, ironically, was murdered partly because of his grandiose pretensions to be descended from Venus. Just two years after his death in 44BC, he was deified – and from that moment, the emperor became the link between the people and the gods.

We stumble around the Catacombs and discover why, despite Diocletian’s insistence that all citizens make public sacrifice to the pagan gods to out those pesky Christians, Romans continued to sign up to Christianity in droves.

But more impressive than any Roman emperor, is Rome itself – outshining everything else in the Italian sunshine, including Rome’s fashionistas – as we follow Sebag-Montefiore round the big hitters of Roman sites, as well as creeping round some secret places that the tourist trail keeps very much to itself.

The first episode of the series – first broadcast in 2012 – is now available on BBC iPlayer.

Buon viaggio!

All images copyright A. Meredith