A trio of short pieces on two cities of eternal magic, Venice and Rome. Iconic French novelist, playwright and essayist Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) is widely recognized as one of the most important philosophers of the twentieth century, and his work has remained relevant and thought-provoking through the decades. The Seagull Sartre Library now presents some of his most incisive philosophical, cultural, and literary critical essays in newly designed and affordable editions. "Venice speaks to us; this false witness's voice, shrill at times, whispering at others, broken by silences, is its voice." In these three moving short pieces, we discover Sartre as a master stylist, lyrically describing his time in two bewitching eternal cities--Venice and Rome. "Antiquity," Sartre writes, "is alive in Rome, with a hate-filled, magical life .".