I am a historian of the city and citizens of Rome, and I write, and sometimes teach, about their history in the Renaissance and Baroque era (1500-1700). Although Rome is an intrinsically interesting subject because of its ancient and modern symbolism, I find it especially appealing as an object of historical inquiry. To me it’s a city that, as Claude Lévi-Strauss once said about animals, is good to think with. It stimulates fascinating questions, especially during the period when it was the political as well as spiritual capital of the papacy (c. 800-1870).