The territory of thecomune (Roma Capitale, in red) inside the Metropolitan City of Rome (Città Metropolitana di Roma, in yellow). The white area in the centre is Vatican City.
Rome (Latin:Roma) is thecapital city ofItaly. It is also the capital and largest city in theregion ofLazio, and the geographical region ofLatium. It is on theTiberRiver and has 2.8 million people. An estimate by theOECD put the number of people of the city area of Rome at 3.47 million.[3] When theRoman Empire was new, Rome was called theEternal City because it was already very old.
Rome is well known for being the home ofVatican City, a sovereign state serving as the headquarters of theHoly See having governance over Vatican and the worldwideRoman Catholic Church with thePope as its head.
Rome is known for sure about the founding ofancient Rome; it isprehistoric. Themyth ofRomulus andRemus is often told. They were supposedly raised by a she-wolf. Romulus killed Remus, and became the first king of Rome, for some time Romulus ruled alongside a Sabine King a neighboring tribe. There is no historicalevidence of this, but the story is popular.Numa Pompilius was the next king.
With the overthrow of theRoman Kingdom began the Republican era. The newRoman Republic fought and conquered the people around it. In390 BC, the town was invaded byGauls. Between the third and second century BC, Rome fought against the rivalCarthage. The Roman army captured and destroyed Carthage.
Only withJulius Caesar in the first century BC, did the city began to grow significantly, especially toward the Campo Marzio, at the north ofCapitoline Hill, and its domain was extended toBritannia. Caesar was never crowned emperor, a title which, however, fell to his adopted son Octavian who took the throne under the name of Augustus.
Augustus "found a city of bricks and left itmarble". With him, Rome reached one million inhabitants and this was the first time in history that has happened in the world. Later emperors also added new monuments, temples, and triumphal arches toancient Rome.
With the decline of theRoman Empire, the city declined in importance and fell into ruin.Pope Gregory I created major reforms for the people. The city was ruled by thepope, and soon also became the capital of a state, thePapal States, which remained active until the19th century. Popes, like the emperors, became richer over the centuries and the same happened with the counties ruled by them.
Rome experienced a second "rebirth" in importance during the ItalianRenaissance. The city of monuments and churches was called the "capital ofChristendom", as the home of theBasilica di San Giovanni Laterano, the most important church of the world. The masterpieces of the Renaissance geniuses, likeLeonardo da Vinci andMichelangelo, embellished the city.
The power of the Pope lessened along with its state.
But with the ItalianRisorgimento Rome experienced a third "rebirth". On 20 September 1870,Garibaldi's army, which had the task of uniting all of Italy under thecrown of Savoy, entered the city through a breach opened in the walls at Porta Pia and, the same year, Rome became the capital of the new Italian state. In a few decades Rome grew to be one of the most important capitals ofEurope and of the world: in 1936 it was the capital of theItalian Empire, even if for a few years because of the second world war.
Rome stands on seven hills, with an area of 1,285.31 km2 (496.26 sq mi). The city is crossed by two rivers: theTiber, which runs from east to west, and l'Aniene, which runs from north-east to north – within the city, it flows into the Tiber. Rome was built on Sun Hill, later namedPalatine. It grew and covered seven principal hills, which are now the inner city of Rome:
Rome has aMediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa), with cool, humid winters and warm, dry summers. Its average annual temperature is above 20 °C (68 °F) during the day and 10 °C (50 °F) at night.
The children in Rome have to go to school from the age of six until 16.[4] This takes them toprimary school (Scuola primaria), thenmiddle school (Scuola secondaria di primo grado) and finallyhigh school (Scuola secondaria di secondo grado). The biggest university in Italy is theUniversity of Rome. It was created in1303. About 200,000 students study at this university.
Rome has many old, famous buildings. In recent centuries, the city has become an importanttourist attraction. Rome has 1,500fountains, which is more than any other city in the world.[5][6]
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