Pompeii

I come from exactly the places narrated in this novel so it has been really a beautiful experience to read about them (and learn more of their history) from an english-language book. It is fiction, but the author has performed their research quite well and the book furnishes a good depiction (as far as I can tell at least) of life at the time of the Romans in the South of Italy, in the area between Pompeii and Misenum. This latter place (and this is where I'm from) hosted the end point of one of the greatest marvels of engineering ever built: an aqueduct that used to feed several Roman towns along its route - you can still visit it by the way. Despite what one might think, the story rotates around water and its use. Nice novel.