The book recounts the captivating journey of illustrator and writer Joseph Pennel and his wife and writer Elizabeth Robins Pennell on three wheels from Florence to Rome. The couple pedaled throughout the British Isles, and along with that, they ventured into Eastern Europe to document their experiences.

Elizabeth Robins Pennell praised cycling altogether and the comfort with which it allowed city dwellers to flee to the countryside for its fresh air and views. She claimed that "there is no more healthful or more stimulating form of exercise; there is no physical pleasure greater than that of being borne along, at a good pace, over a hard, smooth road by your own exertions." Pennells produced over 230 books and hundreds of essays and articles together during their long and fulfilling marriage, built on mutual respect and companionship.

"We hope readers who followed us from London to Canterbury may bear with us to the end of the Pilgrimage to Rome, of which our first journey was but the beginning. We warn them that the second stage, from Canterbury to Florence, has been ridden and written, but not yet wrought into a work", states the introductory note by the couple.