A short novel or novella, in which put-upon Cordelia Brown visits Rome, and finds true love. The characters are 3-dimensional, the story is touching, and the effect is idyllic and excellent.

A classical (rather than classic) mystery.

A fun art-theft thriller, mostly set in a grand country villa just outside Rome. Peters is an entertaining and readable writer, and here she's on top form.

A historical novel. The title tells you what it's about. An ordinary woman is summoned to a lurid court. 600 pages; gets to Rome around p.150.

I don't know whether there actually was a female pope, but nevertheless this novel tells her story.

Fiction.

This novel of the papacy was made into a successful movie.

Thriller, from the author of The da Vinci Code. It's pure pulp fiction.

Our heroine Georgie, a single London office worker, ends up in Rome with two male acquaintances, one a dependable accountant and the other (you guessed it) a dashing cad.

Fiction, by an Italian author.

Brand-name romance.

Contemporary fiction. A woman who lives in a working-class district tries to find out where her no-good husband has disappeared to.

Set in the time of Mussolini.