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ROME - ITALY
Rome (Italian and Latin Roma) is the capital city of Italy, and of its Lazio
region. It is located on the lower Tiber river, near the Mediterranean Sea,
at 41°50'N, 12°15'E. The Vatican City State, a sovereign enclave within Rome,
is the seat of the Roman Catholic Church and its ruler the Pope.
The largest city in Italy, Rome has a population of 2,546,804 (2004) with
3.3 million living in the metropolitan area .
The city's history extends nearly 3,000 years, during which time it has
been the seat of the Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire.
History
According to tradition, Rome was founded on April 21, 753 BC, by Romulus,
who killed in the process his twin brother named Remus. This date was the
basis for the Roman calendar and the Julian calendar (Ab urbe condita).
Romulus and Remus were allegedly sons of the god Mars and the priestess Rea
Silvia, daughter of Numitor, king of Albalonga. The boys were abandoned to
save them from the hate of Amulius, a pretender to Albalonga's throne, and
taken care of by a she-wolf, even today one of the symbols of Rome. Romulus
later killed Remus and became the first ruler of Rome; see founding of Rome.
The origin of the city's name is unknown, with several theories already
circulating in Antiquity; the least likely and the most jingoistic is to
derive it from Greek ??µ? meaning braveness, courage; more probably the
connection is with a root *rum-, "teat", with possible reference to the
totem wolf (Latin lupa, a word also meaning "prostitute") that gave suck to
the cognately-named twins Romulus and Remus.
For the civilisation, history, geographical expansion, and political system
born in the ancient city of Rome, see Ancient Rome.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Ostrogoths ruled the city
from their capital at Ravenna. The Eastern Roman Empire, ruled by Justinian
I, captured Rome in 536. In 546, the Ostrogoths under Totila recaptured and
sacked the city. The Byzantine general Belisarius recaptured Rome but the
Ostrogoths took it again in 549. Belisarius was replaced by Narses, who
captured Rome from the Ostrogoths for good in 552.
Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I (reigned 527–565) regularly granted Rome
the subsidy needed for the maintenance of public buildings, aqueducts and
bridges. He also styled himself the patron of its remaining scholars,
orators, physicians and lawyers in the stated hope that in time more youths
would seek for a better education. However the city was only the seat of a
prefect while the center of Byzantine authority in Italy was moved to
Ravenna.
The reign of his nephew and successor Justin II (reigned 565–578) would see
the invasion of the Lombards under Alboin (568). By capturing the regions of
Benevento, Lombardy, Piedmont, Spoleto and Tuscany, the invaders effectively
restricted imperial authority to small islands of land surrounding Ravenna,
Naples, Rome and the various port cities. In 578 and again in 580, the
restored Roman Senate had to ask for the support of Tiberius II Constantine
(reigned 578–582) against the approaching dukes, Faroald of Spoleto and
Zotto of Benevento.
Maurice I (reigned 582–602) added a new factor in the continuing conflict by
creating an alliance with Childebert II of Austrasia (reigned 575–595). The
armies of the Frankish King invaded the Lombard territories in 584, 585, 588
and 590. And although Rome had suffered badly from a disastrous flood of the
Tiber in 589, followed by a plague in 590 notable for the legend of the
angel that was seen, while the newly elected Pope Gregory I (term 590-604)
was passing in procession by Hadrian's Tomb, to hover over the building and
to sheathe his flaming sword as a sign that the pestilence was about to
cease — the city was safe from capture at least. Agilulf, however, the new
Lombard King (reigned 591 to c. 616), managed to secure peace with
Childebert, reorganized his territories and resumed activities against both
Naples and Rome by 592. With the Emperor preoccupied with wars in the
eastern borders and the various succeeding Exarchs unable to secure Rome
from invasion, Gregory took a personal initiative of starting negotiations
for a peace treaty. It was completed during the autumn of 598 and was only
after recognized by Maurice. But it would last till the end of his reign.
The position of the Patriarch of Rome was further strengthened under the
usurper Phocas (reigned 602–610). Phocas recognized their primacy over that
of the Patriarch of Constantinople and even decreed Pope Boniface III (607)
to be "the head of all the Churches".
When Pepin III defeated the Lombards in 756, Rome became the capital city of
the Papal States, a territorial entity at least nominally ruled by the
Papacy. In practice, however, the government of the city was hotly contested
between various factions of Roman nobility, the Pope, the Holy Roman
Emperor, and the occasional republican insurrection until following the
suppression of the republic of 1434, the Papacy folded the government of
Rome into the ecclesiastical bureaucracy, where it remained until the
unification of Italy under the king of Sardinia in 1870. During this period
Rome became the worldwide centre of Christianity and increasingly developed
a relevant political role that made it one of the most important towns of
the Old Continent. In art, although Florence became the center of humanism
and the Rinascimento (Renaissance), Rome was the center of baroque, and
architecture deeply affected its central areas.
In the 16th century a central area was delimited around the Porticus
Octaviae, for the creation of the famous Roman Ghetto, an area which the
Jews were forced to live in.
Some of the most famous views of Rome in the 18th century were etched by
Giovanni Battista Piranesi. His grand vision of classic Rome inspired many
to visit the city and examine the ruins themselves.
The Roman urban form reflects the stratification of the succeeding epochs,
with a wide historical center; this today contains many areas from Ancient
Rome, very few areas from Quattrocento (mainly around piazza Farnese), and
lots of churches and palaces from baroque times. The historical centre is
identified as within the limits of ancient imperial walls. Some central
areas were reorganised after the unification (1880–1910 - Roma Umbertina),
and some important additions and adaptations made during the fascism, with
the discussed creation of Fori Imperiali and the founding of new quartieri
(among which Eur, San Basilio, Garbatella, Cinecittà and, on the coast, the
restructuring of Ostia) and the inclusion of bordering villages (Labaro,
Osteria del Curato, Quarto Miglio, Capannelle, Pisana, Torrevecchia,
Ottavia, Casalotti). These expansions were needed to face the huge increase
of population due to the centralisation of the Italian state.
During WWII Rome suffered some heavy bombings (notably at San Lorenzo fuori
le Mura) and battles (Porta San Paolo, La Storta) and was considered an
"open town" (as in the film by Roberto Rossellini). Rome fell to the Allies
on June 4, 1944. It was the first capital of an Axis nation to fall.
After the war Rome continued to expand, mainly for a similar reason of
increased number of inhabitants (this time due to the development of the
state administrations and the progressive turning of general national
economy from mainly agricultural to modern industrial schemes), with the
creation of new quartieri and suburbs; the current estimated number of
inhabitants is appr. 3,5 millions, but it has been estimated that in working
time more than 5 million people are in the town. They were 138,000 in 1825,
244,000 in 1871, 692,000 in 1921, 1,600,000 in 1961.
Rome organised the 1960 Summer Olympics, using many ancient sites, such as
the Villa Borghese and the Thermae of Caracalla as venues or surroundings.
Many of the monuments of Rome were restored by the Italian state and by the
Vatican for the 2000 Jubilee.
The Grande Raccordo Anulare, the round motorway that surrounds most part of
it, is more than 80 km long.
Being the capital city of Italy, Rome hosts all the principal institutions
of the nation, like the Presidency of the Republic, the government (and its
single Ministeri), the Parliament, the main judicial Courts, and the
diplomatic representatives of all the countries for the states of Italy and
the Vatican City (curiously, Rome also hosts, in the Italian part of its
territory, the Embassy of Italy for the Vatican City, a unique case of an
Embassy within the boundaries of its own country). Many international
institutions are based in Rome, notably cultural and scientific ones, or
humanitarian like the FAO.
Rome today
Rome is today one of the most important tourist destinations of the world,
due to its immense heritage of archaeological and artistic treasures, as
well as for its unique traditions and the beauty of its views and its
"villas" (parks). Among the most interesting resources, plenty of museums
(i.e., Musei Capitolini, the Vatican Museums, Galleria Borghese, and a great
many others), churches, historical buildings, the monuments and ruins such
as the Roman Forum or the Catacombs.
It is commonly identified by several proper symbols, including the
Colosseum, the she-wolf (Lupa), the imperial eagle, and the symbols of
Christianity. The famous abbreviation S.P.Q.R. recalls the ancient age and
the unity between Roman Senate and population.
It is called "The Urbs", "caput mundi" (head of the world), "Città Eterna"
(eternal city), and "Limen Apostolorum" (the threshold of the apostles).
The town's colors are yellow and red (garnet).
Rome has two holidays of its own: April 21 (the founding of Rome), and June
29 (the feast of its patron saints, Peter and Paul). Other locally important
dates are December 8 (the Immaculate Conception) and January 6 (Epiphany).
Among its hundreds of churches, Rome contains the five Major Basilicas of
the Catholic church: San Giovanni in Laterano (St. John Lateran, Rome's
cathedral), San Pietro in Vaticano (St. Peter's Basilica), San Paolo fuori
le Mura (St. Paul outside the Walls), Santa Maria Maggiore (St. Mary Major),
and San Lorenzo fuori le Mura (St. Lawrence outside the Walls). The Bishop
of Rome is the Pope, in his pastoral activity strictly applicable to the
city, he is assisted by a vicar (usually a cardinal).
Economy
Tourism is Rome's principal industry. The city is also a centre of the
banking, publishing, insurance and fashion industries.
Transportation
Rome has an airport formally named Leonardo Da Vinci International Airport,
but more commonly known as Fiumicino. A second CityAirport is located in
Ciampino, Southeast of the citycentre.
A subway system operates in Rome called the "Metropolitania" or Rome Metro
which was opened in 1955. There are 2 lines (A & B) and a third under
construction. (Today 35 km) Rome also has a comprehensive bus system.
Chronic congestion caused by cars during the 1970s and 80s lead to the
banning of traffic in certain parts of the city.
Education
Amongst the prestigious educational establishments in Rome is the University
of Rome (founded 1303) and the Academia di Santa Cecilia - the world's
oldest academy of music (founded 1584).
The city is also home to the colleges of the church, and several academies
of fine arts.
Monuments and sites
Appian way
Aqueducts
Ara Pacis
Arch of Constantine
Arch of Septimius Severus
Arch of Titus
Baths of Caracalla
Capitoline Museum
Castel Sant'Angelo
Cloaca Maxima
Circus Maximus
Domus Aurea
EUR
La Bocca della Verità, (the mouth of truth)
Palazzo Farnese
Pantheon
Piazza Campo dei Fiori
Piazza Navona
Spanish Steps
Tarpeian Rock
Tiber Island
Trajan's Column
Trastevere
Trevi Fountain
Triton Fountain
Villa Borghese
Churches
Sant'Agnese fuori le Mura
San Carlo al Corso
San Clemente
Il Gesù
Sant'Ignazio
San Marco
Santa Maria degli Angeli
Santa Maria in Aracoeli
Santa Maria della Vittoria
San Pietro in Vincoli
Santa Sabina
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