Facts about Rome
Due to its influence in politics, media, the arts, and culture, Rome has been described as a global city and is known worldwide as the "Eternal City."
Today Rome is circled, at a distance of about 10 km, by the ring-road called the Grande Raccordo Anulare.
Rome is at the center of a network of roads which roughly follow the lines of the ancient Roman roads that began at the Capitoline Hill, and suffers considerable traffic congestion.
Rome (pronounced /ro?m/; Italian: Roma, pronounced ; Latin: Roma) is the capital city of Italy and of the Lazio region, and is Italy's largest and most populous city.
When the Kingdom of Italy annexed Rome in 1870, it had a population of about 200,000, which rapidly increased to 600,000 at the eve of World War I.
Rome is divided into 19 administrative areas, called municipi, each of which is governed by a president and a council of four members who are elected every five years.
Rome hosts foreign embassies to both Italy and the Holy See, although frequently the same ambassador is accredited to both.
Rome had been undefeated in war until 386 B.C.E., when it was briefly occupied by the Gauls.
The seat of the comune is in on the Capitoline Hill the historic seat of government in Rome.
Rome has a two-line metro system called the Metropolitana, the building of which started in the 1930s.
The University of Rome Tor Vergata was founded in 1982, and Roma Tre in 1992.
Rome's main train station, Termini is one of the biggest train stations in Europe, with 29 platforms, over 150 million passengers each year, with around 400,000 daily travelers.
Archaeological evidence supports the view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built in the area of what became the Roman Forum, possibly in the middle of the eighth century B.C.E.
In 1861, Rome was declared the capital of Italy even though it was still under the control of the Pope.
Rome grew momentously after the war, as one of the driving forces behind the "Italian economic miracle" of post-war reconstruction and modernization.
The comune of Rome covers an overall area of about 1,285 kmІ (496 sq mi), including many green areas.
In 2007, there were 2,718,768 people residing in Rome, and some four million in the greater Rome area.
Tourism is inevitably one of Rome's chief industries, with numerous notable museums including the Vatican Museum, the Borghese Gallery, and the Musei Capitolini.
Rome is the center of the Roman Catholic denomination of Christianity, and much in common with the rest of Italy, the large majority of Romans are Roman Catholics.
In 756, Pepin the Short (714-768) gave the pope temporal jurisdiction over Rome and surrounding areas, thus creating the Papal States.
Football is the most popular sport in Rome, as in the rest of the country.
The latter half of the fifteenth century saw the seat of the Italian Renaissance move to Rome from Florence.
Rome is the hub of the Italian film industry, thanks to the Cinecittа studios, which were founded, in 1937, by Benito Mussolini.
Modern day Rome has a dynamic and diverse economy with thriving technology, communications, and service sectors.
The original language of Rome was Latin, which evolved during the Middle Ages into Italian.
The 9th CGPM (Confйrence gйnйrale des poids et mesures) and the CIPM (Comitй international des poids et mesures) formally adopted “degree Celsius” (symbol: °C) in 1948.
Rome is the largest of Italy's 8101 comuni, and is governed by a mayor, and a city council.
Historically, the urban limits of Rome were considered to be the area within the city walls, which were 12 miles (19 km) long by 270 C.E.
Rome became the focus of hopes of Italian reunification when the rest of Italy was reunited under the Kingdom of Italy with a temporary capital at Florence.
Rome hosted the 1960 Summer Olympics and is an official candidate to hosting the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Rome is also the seat of organizations of the United Nations, such as the World Food Program, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.
Rome also has six officially designated suburban zones and 52 agricultural zones.
The altitude of the central part of Rome ranges from 13 m (43 ft) above sea level (at the base of the Pantheon) to 139 m (456 ft) above sea level (the peak of Monte Mario).
Abraham (called Ibrahim) is important to Islam, both in his own right as prophet and as the father of the prophet Ismail (Ishmael).
Rome also contains a number of pontifical universities and institutes, including the Pontifical Gregorian University (the oldest Jesuit university in the world, founded in 1551), the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas.
The worldwide Roman Catholic Church is administered from the Vatican City, run by the Holy See as an independent enclave within Rome and the world's smallest sovereign state.
Rome hosts the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (founded in 1585), and an opera house, the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, as well as several minor musical institutions.
by Alaric I and the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 C.E., Rome alternated between Byzantine and plundering by Germanic barbarians.
Today, Rome is a modern, cosmopolitan city, and the third most-visited tourist destination in the European Union.
The city of Rome is located in the Lazio region of central Italy on the Tiber river (Italian: Tevere).
Every May, Rome hosts the ATP Masters Series tennis tournament on the clay courts of the Foro Italico.
Rome was listed as having the 38th largest gross domestic product in the world in 2005, at US$123-billion.
The historic center of Rome was built on seven hills: The Aventine Hill, the Caelian Hill, the Capitoline Hill, the Esquiline Hill, the Palatine Hill, the Quirinal Hill, and the Viminal Hill.
The most impressive Renaissance architecture masterpiece in Rome is the Piazza del Campidoglio by Michelangelo, along with the Palazzo Senatorio, seat of the city government.
Rome remained nominally part of the Byzantine Empire until 751, when the Lombards finally abolished the Exarchate of Ravenna.
Along with its central place in the history of the Roman Empire, Rome has a significant place in the history of Christianity.
The latter emerged as the confluence of various regional dialects, among which the Tuscan dialect predominated, but the population of Rome also developed its own dialect, the Romanesco.
The 2007 birth rate of Rome was 9.10 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9.45 births.
Apart from brief periods as an independent city during the Middle Ages, Rome kept its status of Papal capital and "holy city" for centuries, even when the Pope briefly relocated to Avignon (1309–1377).
The latter half of the fifteenth century saw the seat of the Italian Renaissance move to Rome from Florence.
Perhaps most impressive of all, Roman aqueducts were so well built that some are still in use to this day. Rome's famous Trevi Fountain, for instance, is supplied by a restored version of the Aqua Virgo, one of ancient Rome's 11 aqueducts.Nov 20, 2012
According to legend, Rome was founded in 753 BC by twin sons Romulus and Remus who were raised by a she-wolf. During its twelve-century history, the Roman civilization shifted from a monarchy to an oligarchic republic to a immense empire.
Pasta in Rome. Pasta is one important element of Roman cuisine. Famous pasta sauces include amatriciana, carbonara, (a sauce made with pancetta or guanciale - pig's cheek -, cheese and egg), cacio e pepe and gricia (like carbonara but without eggs).
This timeline highlights the major events in the history of Ancient Rome. This timeline goes from 753 BC to 27 BC and then from 64 AD to 1453 AD. Rome was founded by Romulus. Romulus was the first of the seven Roman kings.
It all began when the Romans overthrew their Etruscan conquerors in 509 B.C.E. Centered north of Rome, the Etruscans had ruled over the Romans for hundreds of years. Once free, the Romans established a republic, a government in which citizens elected representatives to rule on their behalf.
According to legend, Ancient Rome was founded by the two brothers, and demi-gods, Romulus and Remus, on 21 April 753 BCE. The legend claims that, in an argument over who would rule the city (or, in another version, where the city would be located) Romulus killed Remus and named the city after himself.