The idea for this novel came about when I happened across two papyri found at the end of the Nineteenth century in the Oasis of Fayyum, in Egypt. These were two letters written by a sailor named Apion, who enrolled in the second century AD in the Roman Imperial Fleet stationed at Misenum in Campi Flegrei. 

The novel also bring together Apion’s personal story with the wider history of the period and the regions he lived in, namely the rise of Emperor Hadrian, and the so-called Conspiracy of the Four Consuls. One of these was Publilius Celsus, who was really murdered in Baiae. 

Produced by Gemma Green Close, Passion For Italy Travel.  pfitravel.com.  [email protected]