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Rome

Rome (Italian: Roma) is the capital city of Italy and of the Lazio region, as well as the country's largest and most populous comune, with about 2.8 million residents (3.8 million considering the whole urbanised area, as represented by the Province of Rome). It is located in the central-western portion of the Italian peninsula, where the river Aniene joins the Tiber. As one of the largest cities in the European Union, the Comune di Roma has a gross domestic product of €97 billion in the year 2005, equal to 6.7% of Italy's GDP — the highest proportion of GDP produced by any single Italian comune. The current Mayor of Rome is Walter Veltroni.
According to legend, the city of Rome was founded by the twins Romulus and Remus on April 21, 753 BC. Archaeological evidence supports claims that Rome was inhabited since the 8th century BC and earlier.[2] The city was the cradle of Roman civilization that produced the largest and longest-lasting empire of classical antiquity.[citation needed] The city was pivotal and responsible for the spread of Greco-Roman culture that endures to this day. Rome is also identified with the Catholic Church and the holders of its episcopal seat are the popes. An enclave of Rome is the State of the Vatican City, the sovereign territory of the Holy See and smallest nation in the world.
Rome, Caput mundi ("capital of the world"), la Città Eterna ("the Eternal City"), Limen Apostolorum ("threshold of the Apostles"), la città dei sette colli ("the city of the seven hills") or simply l'Urbe ("the City"),[3] is thoroughly modern and cosmopolitan. As one of the few major European cities that escaped World War II relatively unscathed, central Rome remains essentially Renaissance and Baroque in character. The Historic Centre of Rome is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site[4].

Culture and society about Rome

Religion
The Religio Romana constituted the major religion of the city in antiquity. However, several other religions and imported mystery cults remained represented within its ever-expanding boundaries, including Judaism, whose presence in the city dates back from the Roman Republic and was sometimes forcibly confined to the Roman Ghetto, as well as Christianity. Despite initial persecutions, by the early 4th century, Christianity had become so widespread that it was legalised in 313 by Emperor Constantine I, and later made official religion of the Roman Empire in 380 by Emperor Theodosius I, allowing it to spread further and eventually wholly replace the declining Religio Romana.
Rome became the pre-eminent Christian city (vis-a-vis Antioch and Alexandria, and later Constantinople and Jerusalem) based on the tradition that Saint Peter and Saint Paul were martyred in the city during the 1st century, coupled with the city's political importance. The Bishop of Rome, later known as the Pope, claimed primacy over all Bishops and therefore all Christians on the basis that he is the successor of Saint Peter, upon whom Jesus built his Church; his prestige has been enhanced since 313 through donations by Roman emperors and patricians, including the Lateran Palace and patriarchal basilicas, as well as the obviously growing influence of the Church over the failing civil imperial authority. Papal authority has been exercised over the centuries with varying degrees of success, at times triggering divisions among Christians, until the present.
With the increasing chaos and disorder leading to the collapse of the Roman Empire in 476, the popes assumed more and more civil authority first in Rome and in the surrounding territories. Rome became the centre of the Catholic Church and the capital city of the Papal States; consequently, a great number of churches, convents and other religious buildings were erected in the city, sometimes above the ruins of older pre-Christian sites of worship. Churches proliferated during the Renaissance, when the Rome's most notable churches were built (this includes St. Peter's basilica on the Vatican Hill (the largest church in the world) and the city cathedral of St. John at the Lateran. The Papacy established its residence first in the Lateran Palace, then in the Quirinal Palace. When Rome was annexed by force to the newly unified Kingdom of Italy In 1870, Pope Pius IX retired to the Vatican, proclaiming himself a prisoner of the Savoy monarchy and leading to decades of conflict between the neonate state and the Catholic Church. This was resolved in 1929, when the Lateran Treaty were signed in Rome, establishing the right for the Holy See to govern the Vatican City as an independent, sovereign state. The patron saints of Rome remain Saint Peter and Saint Paul (or, as they are collectively referred to in this context, "the most holy Saints Peter and Paul"), both celebrated on June 29.
In recent years, the Islamic community has grown significantly, in great part due to immigration from North African and Middle Eastern countries into the city. As a consequence of this trend, the comune promoted the building of the largest mosque in Europe, which was designed by architect Paolo Portoghesi and inaugurated on June 21, 1995.

Language
The original language of Rome was Latin, which evolved during the Middle Ages into Italian. 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. This remained largely confined to Rome until the 19th century, but then expanded into the rest of Lazio from the beginning of the 20th century, thanks to the rising population of Rome and to better transportations systems; as a consequence, Romanesco abandoned its traditional forms to mutate into the dialect spoken within the city, which is more similar to standard Italian, although remaining distinct from other Romanesco-influenced local dialects of Lazio. Dialectal literature in the traditional form Romanesco includes the works of such authors as Giuseppe Gioacchino Belli, Trilussa, and Cesare Pascarella. Contemporary Romanesco is mainly represented by popular actors such as Aldo Fabrizi, Alberto Sordi, Nino Manfredi, Anna Magnani, Gigi Proietti, Enrico Montesano, and Carlo Verdone.

Universities
Rome is a nation-wide centre for higher education. Its first university, La Sapienza (founded in 1303), is the largest in Europe and the second largest in the World, with more than 150,000 students attending.[citation needed] Two new public universities were founded: Tor Vergata in 1982, and Roma Tre in 1992, although the latter has now become larger than the former. Rome also contains a large number of pontifical universities and institutes, including the Pontifical Gregorian University (The oldest Jesuit university in the world, founded in 1551), the Angelicum university, and many others. The city also hosts various private universities, such as the LUMSA, the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Roman centre), the LUISS, Istituto Europeo di Design the John Cabot University, the IUSM, the American University of Rome,the Link Campus of Malta, the S. Pio V University of Rome, and the Università Campus Bio-Medico. Rome is also the location of the John Felice Rome Center, a campus of Loyola University Chicago.

City layout and sites of interest

City centre
The historical centre ville is dominated by the traditional "Seven hills of Rome": the Capitoline, Palatine, Viminal, Quirinal, Esquiline, Caelian, and Aventine hills. The Tiber flows south through Rome, with the city centre located where the midstream Tiber Island facilitated crossing. Large parts of the ancient city walls remain. The Servian Wall was built twelve years after Gauls' sack of the city in 390 BC; it contained most of the Esquiline and Caelian hills, as well as the whole of the other five. Rome grew out of the Servian Wall, but no more walls were constructed until 270, when Aurelian began building the Aurelian Walls. These were almost twelve miles long, and was still the wall the troops of the Kingdom of Italy had to breach to enter the city in 1870.

Peripheral layout
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 (districts), surrounding it are 35 quartieri urbani (urban sectors), and within the city limits are six large suburbi (suburbs). The comune of Rome located outside the municipal boundaries about doubles the area of the actual city. The belt Highway known as Grande Raccordo Anulare (G.R.A.) describes a huge circle around the capital, about six miles out from the city centre; unlike most Italian highways, the G.R.A. is toll-free. The circle ties together the antique roads that led to Rome: the Via Flaminia, Via Aurelia, Via Salaria, Via Tiburtina, Via Casilina and Via Appia. Large amounts of modern apartment buildings are located in the districts outside the centre, 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 succeeded in harmonising the old and the new. Though relatively small, the old city centre contains about 300 hotels and 300 pensioni,[citation needed] over 200 palaces,[citation needed] 900 churches,[citation needed] eight of Rome's major parks, the residence of the President of the Italian Republic, 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 visit Rome annually, making it one of the most touristic cities in the world.

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" (Norwich 1975 p 175). In Vatican City there are also the prestigious Vatican Library, Vatican Museums with the Sistine Chapel, the Raphael Rooms and other important works of Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael, Giotto, Botticelli.

Architecture and arts about Rome

Ancient Rome
One of the symbols of Rome is the Colosseum (70-80), the largest amphitheatre ever built in the Roman Empire. Originally capable of seating 50,000 spectators, it was used for gladiatorial combat. 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.

Renaissance and Baroque
Rome was a major world center of the Renaissance, and that left a profound mark on the city. The most impressive masterpiece of Renaissance architecture in Rome (as some would say,) is the Piazza del Campidoglio by Michelangelo, with the Palazzo Senatorio, seat of the city government. During 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, 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 Esedra, Piazza Venezia, Piazza Farnese, Piazza Minerva. One of the most emblematic examples of the baroque art is the Fontana 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.

Neoclassicism
In 1870, Rome became capital city of the new Kingdom of Italy. And neoclassicism, a building style influenced by architecture during Antiquity, became a predominant style in Roman buildings. In this period many great palaces in neoclassical styles were built to host ministries, embassies and other governing agencies. One of the best-known symbol of Roman neoclassicism is the Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II or "Altar of Fatherland", where the grave of the Unknown Soldier, that represents the 650,000 Italians that fell in World War I, is located.

Fascist architecture
The Fascist regime that ruled in Italy between 1922 and 1943 developed an original architectural style, characterized by feast and the research of a link with ancient Rome architecture. The most important fascist style site in Rome is the E.U.R. district, built in 1935. It was originally conceived for the 1942 world exhibition, and was called "E.42" ("Esposizione 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 (1938-1943), 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 gem of an off-centre business district that other capitals were still planning (London Docklands and La Defense in Paris). 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 (see Galleria Borghese) 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.

Rome localities:
Agosta Albano Laziale ALLUMIERE ANGUILLARA SABAZIA Anticoli Corrado Anzio Arcinazzo Romano Ardea Ariccia Arsoli Artena Bellegra BRACCIANO Camerata Nuova CAMPAGNANO DI ROMA CANALE MONTERANO Canterano CAPENA Capranica Prenestina Carpineto Romano Casape Castel Gandolfo Castel Madama Castel San Pietro Romano CASTELNUOVO DI PORTO Cave Cerreto Laziale Cervara Di Roma CERVETERI Ciampino Ciciliano Cineto Romano Civitavecchia Civitella San Paolo Colleferro Colonna FIANO ROMANO Filacciano FIUMICINO FONTE NUOVA Formello FRASCATI Gallicano Nel Lazio Gavignano GENAZZANO GENZANO DI ROMA Gerano Gorga Grottaferrata Guidonia Montecelio Jenne Labico LADISPOLI LANUVIO Lariano Licenza Magliano Romano Mandela Manziana Marano Equo Marcellina MARINO Mazzano Romano MENTANA Monte Porzio Catone Montecompatri Monteflavio Montelanico Montelibretti MONTEROTONDO Montorio Romano Moricone Morlupo NAZZANO Nemi Nerola Nettuno Olevano Romano PALESTRINA PALOMBARA SABINA Percile Pisoniano Poli POMEZIA PONZANO ROMANO Riano RIGNANO FLAMINIO Riofreddo Rocca Canterano Rocca Di Cave ROCCA DI PAPA Rocca Priora Rocca Santo Stefano Roccagiovine Roiate ROMA Roviano SACROFANO Sambuci SAN CESAREO San Gregorio Da Sassola San Polo Dei Cavalieri San Vito Romano Santa Marinella Sant''angelo Romano Sant''oreste Saracinesco Segni Subiaco TIVOLI Tolfa TORRITA TIBERINA TREVIGNANO ROMANO Vallepietra Vallinfreda VALMONTONE Velletri Vicovaro Vivaro Romano Zagarolo

Part of the information regarding the history, the art, the traditions and the events of the province of present Rome on this page is drawn from the situated one www.wikipedia.org respecting the GNU Free Documentation License.