Encyclopedia
Rome is the
capital of
Italy and of its region, called
Latium. It is located across the confluence of the
Tiber and
Aniene rivers. It was once the capital of the
Roman Empire, the most powerful, largest and longest lasting empire of classical Western civilization. The
Vatican, a sovereign
enclave within Rome, is the seat of the
Roman Catholic Church and the home of the
Pope.
Rome is the largest
comune in Italy and it is also one of the largest European capital cities in land area, with an area of 1,285 square kilometers. The
comune territory extends up to the
Tyrrhenian Sea, with the district of
Ostia, on the south-west, located on the shore. Within the city limits, the population is about 2.5 million; almost 3.8 million live in the urbanised area of Rome, as represented by the province of Rome, making it second in population to
Milan. The current mayor of Rome is
Walter Veltroni.
With a
gross domestic product of €97 billion in the year 2005, the
comune of Rome produced 6.7% of Italy's GDP, which is the highest proportion of GDP produced by any single one of Italy's
comunes.
The city's history extends nearly 2,800 years, during which time it has been the seat of
ancient Rome and, later, the
Papal States,
Kingdom of Italy and Italian Republic . Rome is also called "
la Città Eterna" , "lUrbe
" and "The City of the Seven Hills".
History
The civilization of ancient Rome originated in the
8th or 9th century BC, when the tribe of the Latini migrated to the
Italian peninsula to settle around the River
Tiber. For almost a thousand years, Rome was a very important city in the
Western world and possibly the largest city in the world, with around 1.5 to 2 million inhabitants, as the capital of the expansive
Roman Empire. With the rise of
Christianity, Rome became the center of the Roman Catholic Church and the home of the popes. The slow
decline of the Roman Empire heralded the beginning of the
Middle Ages, but the city regained prominence as the cultural capital of
Western Roman Empire for several hundred years leading up to the
Renaissance. Rome remains influential today, as the capital of Italy, as center of the Catholic Church, and as a major metropolis.
In Roman mythology, Rome was built on April 21 753 BC by the twin descendants of the Trojan prince
Aeneas,
Romulus and Remus. Romulus killed Remus in a quarrel over where their city was to be located and became the first of seven Kings of Rome, as well as the source of the city's name.
Central Rome is dominated by the traditional
seven hills that hark back to the Latin founding myth of the city. These seven hills are the Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, Caelian, Aventine, Capitoline, and Palatine Hills. The
Tiber River and its islands are an important additional component of the city, flowing south through the western portion of the central zone.
Geography
Location and layout
Rome is located on the
Tiber River 24 km inland from the
Tyrrhenian Sea. The city was built on a defendable hill dominating the last high-banked river crossing where traverse was faciliated by a midstream isle.
Much of Rome is located within the old city walls. The
Servian Wall was built twelve years after
Gauls' conquest of the city in 390 BC. The wall enclosed most of the Esquiline and Caelian Hill and contained the entire area of the other five. Rome grew beyond the
Servian Wall but no more walls were constructed until 270, when
Aurelian began building the
brick-faced concrete
Aurelian Walls. The new wall is almost twelve miles long and was the wall Italian forces had to breach in 1870. The wall is still largely intact.
The ancient city within the walls covers about four percent of the modern municipality's 582 square miles. The old city is the smallest of Rome's twelve administrative zones. The walled city center is made up of 22
rioni , sorrounding it are 35
quartieri urbani , and within the city limits are six large
suburbi . The
comune of Rome located outside the municipal boundaries about doubles the area of the actual city.
A belt
highway describes a huge circle around the capital about six miles out from the city center. The circle ties together the antique roads that led to Rome: the Via Flaminia, the Via Aurelia and
Via Appia. Large amounts of modern apartment buildings are located in the districts outside the center, where contemporary architecture has not gone unnoticed. Many street frontages and show windows often change to keep up with the times and the Romans have suceeded in harmonizing the old and the new.
Though small, the old city center contains about 300 hotels and 300
pensioni, over 200 palaces, 900 churches, eight of Rome's major parks, the residence of the Italian president, the houses of the
Parliament, offices of the city and city government, and many great and well-known monuments. The old city also contains thousands of workshops, offices, bars, and restaurants. Millions of tourists annually flock to this area.
Climate
Rome's climate is at its most comfortable from April through June or early July. By August, the temperature during the heat of the day often exceeds 35° C . Many businesses close during August, and Romans traditionally abandon the city for cooler climes. The average high temperature in December is about 13° C
Economy
Today, Rome has a dynamic and diverse economy with thriving innovation, technologies, communications and service sectors. It produces 6.7% of the national GDP . Rome grows 4,4% annually and continues to grow at a higher rate than any other city in the rest of the country. Rome's economic growth began to surpass that of its rivals,
Naples and
Milan after World War II.
Tourism is inevitably one of Rome's chief industries, with many notable museums including the
Vatican Museum, and the
Borghese Gallery. The city is also a centre for
banking as well as electronics and aerospace industries.
Many international headquarters, government ministries, conference centres, sports venues and museums are located in Rome's principal business districts: the
Esposizione Universale Roma ; the
Torrino ; the
Magliana; the
Parco de' Medici-Laurentina and the so-called
Tiburtina-valley along the ancient Via Tiburtina.
Demographics
City of Rome
Population by year |
|---|
| 330 | 1,000,000 |
| 530 | 100,000 |
| 1000 | 20,000 |
| 1750 | 156,000 |
| 1800 | 163,000 |
| 1820 | 140,000 |
| 1850 | 185,000 |
| 1858 | 182,000 |
| 1871 | 212,000 |
| 1881 | 273,000 |
| 1901 | 422,000 |
| 1911 | 518,000 |
| 1921 | 660,000 |
| 1931 | 930,000 |
| 1936 | 1,150,000 |
| 1951 | 1,651,000 |
| 1961 | 2,187,000 |
| 1971 | 2,781,000 |
| 1981 | 2,839,000 |
| 1991 | 2,775,000 |
| 2001 | 2,546,000 |
At the time of the Roman Empire, Rome was for many centuries the world greatest city, with over one million estimated residents. After the fallen of empire, due to barbaric invasions, the population of Rome declined to only 20,000 inhabitants in the dark ages. Afterwards, the population began to rise in the Renaissance and surpassed the one hundred thousand residents in XVII century.
There were about 200,000 people living in Rome in 1870, when it became the capital of the new Kingdom of Italy. In the fascist period, between the last decades of the 19th century and World War II, Rome grew rapidly and surpassed 1,000,000 residents. The EUR district was built during this period. After WWII and the Nazi military occupation, which seriously damaged the city, Rome experienced another great change in demographics during the "economic miracle" of the 1950s and '60s. But in the late 1980s and '90s, Rome's population began to fall because many residents, in order to escape traffic and pollution, moved to the external urban belt.
At present, like most western European capitals, Rome has accumulated a substantial immigrant population. Italy's official statistics bureau in 2005 estimates, states that 145,000 immigrants live in the Rome's comune, or 5.69 percent of the total comune population. The foreign population in the urban area of Rome consists in 206,000 persons, or 5.37 percent of the total urban area population. The foreign population in the metro area of Rome is about 248,000 persons or 4.67 percent of the total metro area population. By far the largest number of immigrants are Eastern European, with the largest numbers of foreigners coming from
Romania,
The Philippines,
Poland,
Albania,
Peru,
Bangladesh, and
Ukraine.
Religion
The Religio Romana constituted the major religion of the city in antiquity. However, other religions remained represented within its ever-changing boundaries, and by the 4th century Christianity was widespread alongside the ancient cults.
During his reign, Emperor
Constantine I legalized Christianity. However, it was
Theodosius II who made it the official religion of the Roman Empire, allowing a rapid spread of the religion which similarly continued to spread thereafter. Rome was established as the center of the Catholic Church. Consequently, a great number of some of the most important religious buildings of Christianity were erected in the city.
Across the river Tiber from the old Roman Forum and its centers of pre-Christian worship is the
Vatican City, an autonomous country inside the city and the center of Catholicism. There are currently over 900
churches in Rome, including many world famous locations, housing a wide collection of masterpieces of religious art.
In Rome there is also the largest
mosque in Europe, designed by the Italian achitect Paolo Portoghesi and inaugurated on June 21st, 1995.
Culture
Ancient Rome
One of the symbols of Rome is the
Colosseum, the largest
amphitheatre ever built in the
Roman Empire. Originally capable of seating 50,000 spectators, it was used for
gladiatorial
combat. It was built in the 70s and completed in
80. The great complex of the
Imperial Forums consist of a series of monumental
fora , constructed in Rome over a period of one and half centuries, between 46 BC and 113. The forums were the heart of the late
Roman Republic and of the
Roman Empire. The list of the very important monuments of ancient Rome includes the
Roman Forum, the
Domus Aurea, the
Pantheon, the
Trajan's Column, the
Trajan's Market, the
Catacombs of Rome, the
Circus Maximus, the
Baths of Caracalla, the
Arch of Constantine, the
Pyramid of Cestius, the Bocca della Verità. Moreover, the archeological site of
Ostia preserves intact a whole ancient roman town.
The Renaissance and the Baroque
Rome was the major world center of the Renaissance, and that left a profond mark on the city. The most impressive masterpiece of Renaissance in Rome is the
Piazza del Campidoglio by
Michelangelo, with the Palazzo Senatorio, seat of city govt. In this period the great aristocratic families of Rome used to build opulent dwellings as the
Palazzo del Quirinale, now seat of the President of the Republic, the
Palazzo Venezia, the
Palazzo Farnese, the
Palazzo Barberini, the Palazzo Chigi, now seat of the Prime Minister of Italy, the
Palazzo Spada, the
Palazzo della Cancelleria, the
Villa Farnesina.
Rome is also famous for her huge and majestic squares, often adorned with obelisks, many of those built in the XVII century. The principal squares are
Piazza del Popolo,
Piazza Navona,
Piazza di Spagna, Campo de'Fiori, Piazza dell'Esedra,
Piazza Venezia, Piazza Farnese, Piazza Minerva. One of the most emblematic examples of the baroque art is the Fontanta di Trevi by
Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Other notable baroque palaces of XVII century are the
Palazzo Madama, now seat of the
Italian Senate and the
Palazzo Montecitorio, now seat of the
Chamber of Deputies of Italy.
The Neoclassicism
In the year 1870 Rome became capital city of the new Kingdom of Italy, so started a great building fever in the late '800 style, the Neoclassicism, in order to provide the city with all the structures necessary at her new functions. In this period many great palaces in neoclassical style were built to host ministries, embassies and other governative agencies. The symbol of roman neoclassicism is the
Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II or "Altar of Fatherland", where is placed the grave of Unknown Soldier, that represents the 650,000 italian fallen in
World War I. Also Piazza dell' Esedra is a famous neoclassical building in Rome.
The Fascist Architecture
The Fascist regime that ruled in Italy between 1922 and 1943 developed an original architectural style, characterized by feast and the resarch of a link with ancient Rome architecture. The most important fascist style site in Rome is the E.U.R. district, acronym for
Esposizione Universale Roma, built in 1935. It was originally conceived for the 1942 world exhibition, and was called "E.42" . However, the world exhibition never took place due to
Italy entering the
Second World War in 1940. The most representative building of the Fascist style at E.U.R. is the
Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana , the iconic design of which has been labeled the
cubic or Square
Colosseum.
After World War II, the Roman authorities found that they already had a germ of an off-centre
business district that other capitals were still planning . Also the Palazzo della Farnesina, the actual seat of Italian Foreign Ministry, was designed in 1935 in fascist style.
Villas and gardens
The surroundings of Rome are characterized by numerous and large green areas and opulent ancient villas. The most important are:
Villa Borghese, with a large landscape garden in the naturalistic English manner, containing a number of buildings, museums and attractions;
Villa Doria Pamphili, the largest public landscaped park of Rome with an area of 1.8 km²;
Villa Torlonia, a splendid example of
Art Nouveau mansion that was the roman residence of Benito Mussolini;
Villa Albani, commissioned by
Alessandro Cardinal Albani to house his collection of antiquities and Roman sculpture, which soon filled the casino that faced the Villa down a series of formal parterres.
Museums and galleries
The list of most important museums and galleries of Rome includes: the
National Museum of Rome, the
Museum of Roman Civilization, the
Villa Giulia National Etruscan Museum, the
Capitoline Museums, the
Borghese Gallery, the Museum of
Castel Sant'Angelo, the National Gallery of Modern Art.
Education and Music
Rome is the greatest italian high education center, hosting the largest university in Europe, the
La Sapienza University, with 150,000 students from all over the world. The city has also other two public universities, the
University of Rome Tor Vergata and the
Third University of Rome, and many private universities as the LUISS University of Rome, the Maria SS. Assunta University of Rome, the
John Cabot University, the Motor Science University of Rome, the
S. Pio V University of Rome, the
Biomedical University of Rome.
Rome is also one of the world most important centers of music, hosting the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. The facilities of the Academy are now located on the premises of the new
Parco della Musica in Rome, one of the largest musical venues in the world. In addiction, Rome has an opera house, the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma.
Administrative subdivision of Rome
The
administrative subdivision of Rome consists of the 19 sub-municipalities of Rome's municipality. Originally, the city was divided into 20 sub-municipalities, but the XIV, what is now the Comune di Fiumicino, voted some years ago to become a full municipality itself and eventually detached from Rome.
List of Town Halls
- Municipio I – Includes the traditional Rioni: Monti, Trevi, Colonna, Campo Marzio
[i]
...
, Ponte,
Parione, Regola, Sant'Eustachio, Pigna,
Campitelli, Sant'Angelo,
Trastevere, Esquilino, Ludovisi,
Sallustiano, part of
Castro Pretorio, Celio.
- Municipio II – Includes the districts: Flaminio, Parioli, Pinciano, Salario and a part of the Trieste.
- Municipio III – Includes: San Lorenzo, Stazione Tiburtina; Nomentano , Università La Sapienza, Verano, Bologna, and Policinico.
- Municipio IV – Includes the districts: Monte Sacro, Monte Sacro Alto, Val Melaina, Castel Giubileo, Marcigliana, Casal Boccone, Tor S. Giovanni and a part of the Trieste.
- Municipio V – Includes the districts: Pietralata, Ponte Mammolo, S. Basilio, Settecamini, Tor Cervara, Tor Sapienza, Acqua Vergine and parts of the Tiburtino and of the Collatino.
- Municipio VI – Includes parts of the districts: Tiburtino, Prenestino-Labicano, Tuscolano and Collatino.
- Municipio VII – Includes the districts: Prenestino, Centocelle, Alessandrino, La Rustica and parts of the Tuscolano, Collatino, Don Bosco, Tor Cervara, Tor Sapienza and Torre Spaccata.
- Municipio VIII – Includes the districts: Lunghezza, S. Vittorino, Torre Angela, Borghesiana and parts of the Don Bosco, Acqua Vergine, Torre Spaccata, Torre Maura, Torrenova and Torre Gaia.
- Municipio IX – Includes parts of the districts: Prenestino-Labicano, Tuscolano and Appio Latino.
- Municipio X – Includes: Appio Claudio, Capannelle, and parts of Tuscolano, Don Bosco, Appio Pignatelli, Torre Maura, Torrenova, Torre Gaia.
- Municipio XI – Includes parts of: Appio Latino, Ostiense, Ardeatino, Appio Pignatelli, Torricola and Cecchignola.
- Municipio XII – Includes: Giuliano-Dalmata, EUR, Fonte Ostiense, Vallerano, Castel di Decima, Torrino and parts of Ostiense, Castel di Leva and Cecchignola.
- Municipio XIII – Includes: Ostia Ponente, Ostia Levante, Castel Fusano, and parts of Tor de' Cenci, Mezzocamino.
- Muncipio XV – Includes parts of: Portuense, Gianicolense, Magliana Vecchia, Ponte Galeria, Pisana.
- Municipio XVI – Includes parts of: Portuense, Gianicolense, Maccarese, Pisana, Castel di Guido.
- Municipio XVII – Includes the Rioni Prati and Borgo and parts of the districts Trionfale, Della Vittoria.
- Municipio XVIII – Includes parts of:Aurelio, Trionfale, Primavalle, Castel di Guido, Casalotti.
- Municipio XIX – Includes parts of: Aurelio, Trionfale, Primavalle, Della Vittoria.
- Municipio XX – Includes: Tor di Quinto, La Giustiniana, La Storta, Cesano and parts of Della Vittoria, Tomba di Nerone.
Vatican City
The city of Rome surrounds the Vatican City, the
enclave of the
Holy See, which is a separate sovereign state. It hosts
Saint Peter's Square with the
Saint Peter's Basilica. The open space before the basilica was redesigned by
Gian Lorenzo Bernini, from 1656 to 1667, under the direction of
Pope Alexander VII, as an appropriate forecourt, designed "so that the greatest number of people could see the Pope give his blessing, either from the middle of the façade of the church or from a window in the Vatican Palace" . In Vatican City there are also the prestigiuous
Vatican Museums with the
Sistine Chapel, the
Raphael Rooms and other important works of
Leonardo Da Vinci,
Raphael, Giotto,
Botticelli.
Transportation
Rome has an intercontinental
airport, the
Leonardo Da Vinci International Airport - FCO 
