Rome has always inspired poets and writers, provoking both fervent praise and critical engagement. This ambivalent perception has intensified since World War II. This volume brings together the lectures from the conference "Rome in German Literature after 1945 / Roma nella letteratura di lingua tedesca dopo il 1945," which took place on March 22, 2007, in Rome. It addresses the ambiguous image of Rome that emerges in the second half of the 20th century through the revision of the abstract notion of Rome at the moment of concrete experience of the city. The sometimes overt, sometimes more hidden engagement with the literary journeys to Rome from past eras is particularly exciting. Modern authors respond to this tradition, especially that of the Goethe period, both affirmatively and with a conscious distancing, while also continuing the myth of "Rome" as such. The contributions illustrate how the city gains significance, whether for the aporias of modern and postmodern life concepts (Bachmann, Brinkmann, Timm, Zaimoglu), for the longing remembrance of lost grandeur (Bergengruen), for dealing with history (Andersch, Delius, Koeppen), or for poetry (Bernhard, Böll, Krausser).