Ecce Romani is a reading-based Latin program. The first two books feature the Cornelians, a rich family from Rome. The third book focuses on Roman stories and mythology. The title of the series translates to Look! The Romans!^[1][2]

Each chapter in Ecce Romani features a story written in Latin. Under it is a list of new or unfamiliar words in the text, with translations and short descriptions about the word. This will be followed by a grammar lesson, relating to the passage, and grammar practice. The chapter will then end with either cultural information, historical information, or something similar.^[3][4]

The first book opens introducing the reader to the Cornelian family: Gaius, a Roman senator, Aurelia, the mother of two children, Cornelia, the younger sister of Marcus, who is the eldest child of the family. They are caring for Sextus, a boy whose mother died in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Pompeii, and whose father is away in the army, stationed in Asia Minor.^[5]

Gaius is told that he must return to Rome immediately, due to a session of the Senate being called by the emperor. The carriage the family is traveling in crashes in a ditch, where they remain for a large duration of the story. After several chapters, the carriage is eventually fixed. The family eventually reaches Rome, where they are greeted by Titus, Gaius' father.^[6]