This book presents a remarkable and long-awaited comprehensive account of the impact of politics in Rome on the building activity carried out by its magistrates during the Republic. Long-awaited because, as D. herself remarks in the introduction, the use of monuments for political propaganda has always been taken for granted in relation to the imperial period, but not as much for the Republic, and a comprehensive analysis of it in English was not available. In fact, as D. remarks in a footnote in the introduction, most contributions hitherto have been isolated articles, essays or topographical studies.

D.’s investigation follows a chronological order, and, after the introduction, the seven chapters into which the book is divided each analyse a different phase of the Republic. These phases correspond to periods in which particular main trends can be observed in Roman politics and in architecture, as well as to the state of the evidence (p. 3).

The introduction briefly presents the state of current scholarship in the analysis of Republican monuments and outlines the main aims of the book, which rest on D.’s argument that there was a reciprocal influence between the development of Rome, its monumental landscape and the government of the city. This is followed by a brief explanation of how the Roman Republican government worked (assemblies and magistracies) and of the problems connected both to the needs of legitimacy felt by the ruling class and, at the same time, to the control on the magistrates’ competition exercised by the Roman Senate. As D. states (p. 3), her focus is on intention, rather than reception, on architecture and on public buildings (excluding those dedicated to deities that did not belong to a major cult), and on the city of Rome alone. She then presents the major issues connected to the scantiness, in some cases, of the archaeological evidence and states her stance on the interpretation of available written sources. An overview of the three main categories in which she has divided public buildings (sacred buildings, manubial monuments, civic initiatives) concludes the section.

Chapter 1, after a short introduction to the situation in Rome during the so-called ‘monarchical period’, analyses the time span between the conventional date for the foundation of the Roman Republic (509 bc) and the end of the Latin league in 338 bc. Chapter 2 considers the following years up to the beginning of the Second Punic War (218 bc), whose development is followed in Chapter 3 up to the changes taking place in the aftermath (134 bc). The tribunate of Ti. Sempronius Gracchus marks the beginning of Chapter 4, and ends it with L. Julius Caesar's law granting citizenship to all Latins and Italians (90 bc). The last three chapters (Chapter 5, 6 and 7) are dedicated to the dramatic events of the first half of the first century bc: from the rise of Sulla to Pompey's first consulship (89–70 bc); from 69 to the dedication of Pompey's theatre (55 bc); and from the start of the works on Caesar's forum to Caesar's assassination (54–44 bc).

Each chapter is divided into four sections. The first presents an overview of political events both in Rome and abroad, in order to provide a framework for the three following sections that discuss the monuments, divided into sacred, manubial and civic buildings. As D. admits, this division is artificial, as the three categories largely overlap each other; it is nevertheless very useful and effective for understanding changes in the magistrates’ attitudes and in their ability to respond to military, political and social challenges. It also allows us to see clearly the new possibilities for advancement, political affirmation or protest that the promotion of monuments progressively opened up to the various magistracies.

D. engages with the most recent scholarship on the political organisation of the Roman Republic (for example, K.-J. Hölkeskamp, H. Mouritsen, R. Morstein-Marx, M. Jehne, A. Yakobson) and takes a stance on some controversial issues related to monuments: for example, she does not accept the identification of the statues mentioned by Tatian with those present in the theatre of Pompey (p. 232); the so-called ‘Caesarian galleries’ are connected to the staging of gladiatorial games in the Forum (p. 211); the contradicting testimonies of Suetonius and Cassius Dio with reference to Caesar's theatre are explained as pertaining to projects for two different theatres (and related to this is the question of the localisation of the mons Tarpeius) (p. 267).

The book is beautifully presented, with the written text organised in two columns for each page (which facilitates reading), accompanied by a great number of colour images of very good quality. In particular, an interesting feature are the photos of places that are usually closed to the public (such as the interior of the temple of Portunus). There are a number of beautiful digital and drawn reconstructions, and the maps of the city (one per chapter) and detailed plans of specific areas are clear and easily readable, in spite of the quantity of information that some of them present. Less practical are the notes to the text all being grouped at the end of the book, before the bibliography and the index, which, even though the pages to which they refer are indicated on the page headings, makes the reading and consulting of the references less fluid. The bibliography presents some style inconsistencies, mainly related to the names of the authors, which are sometimes abbreviated and sometimes not; there are also a few cross-references in the footnotes that are missing or inexact.

This book will be very useful to advanced undergraduates and postgraduates who want to have a clear picture of the monumental development of Republican Rome, its pivotal significance for politics and of the origins of the propagandistic importance that monuments would have in the imperial period. For more advanced scholars, this book provides a wealth of updated material and bibliography as well as many suggestions for further discussion; particularly interesting is the inclusion, in a book on constructions, of the idea of destruction or vandalisation of monuments by magistrates as a political weapon of protest, challenge and rejection.