and freshwater fish by the owners of seaside villas had come to symbolise extravagance and private luxury in the literary tradition of the Republic. Because of the enormous expense of construction and maintaining these fishponds, their history is peopled by some of the more colourful figures of Roman aristocratic society, several of whom acquired piscine nicknames or bizarre reputations for their flamboyant pursuit of this hobby. The anecdotes [of some of these figures - ND] provide a lively literary and historical backdrop to the careful study of the archaeological remains of piscinae presented in this book. As the author rightly points out, the agricultural handbooks are of little value in the study of ancient pisciculture (…). It is therefore necessary to supplement the literary sources with a detailed examination of the archaeological remains in order to comprehend fully the practice of artificial fish breeding among the Romans and how it evolved over time. The book is divided into two principal parts: an introductory survey of all aspects of Roman pisciculture, and a detailed gazetteer of the physical remains of piscinae. The survey begins with a chapter on fishpond construction and operation (…). A second chapter catalogues the variety of fish known to have been bred in these ponds and includes much of the anecdotal material about the popularity of the individual breeds among the Romans. The third chapter (…) is a fascinating appraisal of the ways in which the popularity of piscinae mirrored cultural trends among the elites (…). The geographical organisation of the individual examples in the gazetteer is somewhat frustrating. This catalogues the 56 best-preserved remains in Italy (…). Each clearly written and concise entry is the product of thorough in situ examination of the remains (…) and most are supplemented by a useful plan and/or photograph. (…) Since locating any site referred to in the introductory material requires consulting the index (…) a typological or chronological catalogue might have been more effective. (…) Nevertheless, this book brings together an impressive array of literary and archaeological material and constitutes the definitive study of this unique architectural form in Roman Italy. (…) a handsome and copiously illustrated volume.’ (CHRISTOPHER PARSLOW in The American Journal of Archaeology, 1998, pp.638-639).