ROMA photos on Flickr

Roma capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality (central area), with over 2.7 million residents in 1,285.3 km2 (496.3 sq mi). While the population of the urban area was estimated by Eurostat to have been 3.46 million in 2004, the metropolitan area of Rome was estimated by OECD to have had a population of 3.7 million no later than 2006.

The city of Rome is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber river within the Lazio region of Italy. It has been one of history's most powerful and important cities, being the home of the emperor during the Roman Empire and the modern seat of the Italian government. Rome also has a significant place in Christianity and is the present day home of the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope, and the site of the Vatican City, an independent city-state run by the Catholic Church.[5] Due to this centrality on many levels, the city has been nicknamed "Caput Mundi" (Latin for "Capital of the World") and "The Eternal City".

Rome's history spans over two and a half thousand years. It was the centre of the Roman Republic and of the Roman Empire, which was a major political and cultural influence in the lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea for over four hundred years from the 1st Century BC until the 4th Century AD. During the Middle-Ages, Rome was home to popes such as Alexander VI and Leo X, who transformed the city into one of the major centres of the Italian Renaissance, along with Florence. The current-day version of St Peter's Basilica was built and the Sistine Chapel's ceiling was painted by artist Michelangelo. Famous artists and architects, such as Bramante, Leonardo da Vinci, Bernini and Raphael resided for some time in Rome, contributing to its Renaissance and Baroque architecture. As a modern city, it has been capital of the unified Italy since 1870, and grew mainly in two periods before and after World War II. Rome has had an immense historic influence to the world and modern society over the ages, particularly during ancient times, mainly in subjects such as architecture, art, culture, politics, literature, law, philosophy and religion.[8][9][10]

Modern Rome is a bustling and cosmopolitan metropolis, and is Italy's administrative, cultural and political capital. Its rich artistic heritage and vast amount of ancient, notably architectural and archaeological sites, contribute to the city's UNESCO World Heritage Sites.[11][12][13] Its modern and ancient global influence in politics, literature, high culture, the arts, music, religion, education, fashion, cinema and cuisine lead it to being an Alpha- world city, according to Loughborough University and GaWC in 2008. Rome is also an important worldwide hub of the cinematic and filming industry, home to the important and large Cinecittà Studios, which saw the filming of several internationally acclaimed movies as well as television programmes. Currently, and since the 1957 Treaty of Rome, the metropolis serves as one of Europe's major political centres, with worldwide organizations such as World Food Programme (WFP), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the NATO Defence College being headquartered in the city. Rome is regarded as being one of the nation's principle centres of business, media and finance, along with Milan. The Rome metropolitan area has a GDP of €109.4 billion (US$ 149.14), and according to a 2008 study, the city is the world's 35th richest city by purchasing power, with a GDP of €94.376 billion (US$ 121.5 billion), and is the world's 18th most expensive city (in 2009).

The city hosted the 1960 Olympic Games, with great success, and is also an official candidate for the 2020 Olympic Games.

Rome is the third-most-visited tourist destination in the European Union, and its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Monuments and museums such as the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum are amongst the world's 50 most visited tourist destinations (the Vatican Museums receiving 4.2 million tourists and the Colosseum receiving 4 million tourists every year).

Founding Rome

The founding of Rome is reported by many legends, which in recent times are beginning to be supplemented by more scientific reconstructions.

Virgil's Aeneid is an important source for information about those early times or, at least, the myth-historical events current in the Augustan period.

The Latins originally stayed in Colli Albani (the Alban hills, modern Castelli– 30–80 km (20–50 miles) southeast of the Capitoline hill); later, they moved down towards the valleys, which provided better land for animal breeding and agriculture. The area around the Tiber river was particularly advantageous and also offered notable strategic resources, as the river was a natural border on one side, while the hills could provide a safe defensive position on the other side. This position would also have enabled the Latins to control the river (and commercial or military traffic on it), from the natural observation point at Isola Tiberina (the island facing modern Trastevere). Moreover, road traffic could also be controlled, since Rome was at the intersection of the principal roads to the sea coming from Sabinum (in the northeast) and Etruria (to the northwest).

The development of the town is presumed to have started from the development of separate small villages, located on top of hills, which joined together to form Rome.

Although recent studies suggest that the Quirinal hill was very important in ancient times, the first hill to be inhabited seems to have been the Palatine (therefore confirming the legend), which is also at the center of ancient Rome. Its three peaks, minor hills (Cermalus or Germalus, Palatium, and Velia) united with the three peaks of the Esquiline (Cispius, Fagutal, and Oppius), and then villages on the Caelian hill and Suburra (between modern Rione Monti and the Oppius hill) joined them.

These hills had expressive names: the Caelian hill was also called Querquetulanus, from quercus (oak), while Fagutal points to beech-woods, from fagus (beech). Recent discoveries reveal that the Germalus on the northern part of the Palatine, was the site of a village (dated to the 9th century BC) with circular or elliptic dwellings. It was protected by a clay wall (perhaps reinforced with wood), and it is likely that this is where Rome was really founded.

The territory of this federation was surrounded by a sacred border called the pomerium, which enclosed the so-called Roma Quadrata (Square Rome). This would have been extended with the inclusion of the Capitoline hill and Tiber island at the time Rome became an oppidum or fortified town. The Esquiline still was a satellite village that would be included at the time of the Servian expansion of Rome.

Festivals for the Septimontium (literally "of the seven hills"), on December 11, were in the past considered related to the foundation. However, as April 21 is the only datum for foundation upon which all the legends agree, it has been recently argued that Septimontium was likely to have actually celebrated the first federations among Roman hills: a similar federation was, in fact, celebrated by the Latins at Cave (a village southeast of Rome) or at Monte Cavo (in Castelli).

According to Francis Owen in The Germanic People (1960), the people which settled Rome may have been immigrants from outside the Italian peninsula, possibly an off-shoot from the same group that would become Celtic or Germanic peoples. Traces of the founding population were apparently evident in the appearance of the aristocracy long into the time of the republic. According to Owens the evidence available from Roman literature, historical records and statuary and personal names shows that in physical appearance the Roman aristocracy differed from most of the population in the rest of the peninsula. The records describe a very large number of well known historical personalities as blonde. In addition, 250 individuals are recorded to have had the name Flavius, meaning blonde, and there are many named Rufus and Rutilius, meaning red haired and reddish haired respectively. The following Roman gods are said to have had blonde hair: Amor, Apollo, Aurora, Bacchus, Ceres, Diana, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Minerva and Venus.

Romulus and Remus

The earlier legend of the founding of the Rome (i.e., that it was founded personally by Aeneas), was supplanted over the centuries by the attribution of the founding to twin brothers, Romulus (c. 771 BC–c. 717 BC) and Remus (c. 771 BC–c. 753 BC). In Roman mythology, they are sons of the priestess Rhea Silvia and Mars, the god of war, abandoned at birth at Tiber by servants in charge of executing them. The twins were taken by a she-wolf. Later a shepherd named Faustulus came and took Remus and Romulus. Faustulus and his wife (Acca Larentia) raised the children. When Remus and Romulus became adults they decided to establish a city. They couldn't decide who would rule the city so they gave it to omens. Remus was the first to see six vultures flying in the sky. Soon after Romulus saw twelve vultures. Remus saw the birds first but Romulus saw more. Finally Romulus was the one who was designated. When Remus saw how weak Romulus was he laughed. In retaliation Romulus killed Remus.

The date of the founding of Rome

During the Roman republic, several dates were given for the founding of the city, all in the interval between 758 BC and 728 BC. Finally, under the Roman empire the date suggested by Marcus Terentius Varro (753 BC) was agreed upon, but in the Fasti Capitolini the year given was 752. While the years varied, all versions agreed that the city was founded on April 21, day of the festival sacred to Pales, goddess of shepherds; in her honour, Rome celebrated the Par ilia (or Palilia). (The Roman Ab Urbe Condita (or a.u.c.) calendar, however, begins with Varro's dating of 753 BC.)

According to legend, the foundation of Rome took place 438 years after the capture of Troy (1182 BC), according to Velleius Paterculus (VIII, 5). It took place shortly before an eclipse of the sun; some have identified this eclipse as one observed at Rome on June 25, 745 BC, which had a magnitude of 50.3%. Varro may have used the consular list with its mistakes, calling the year of the first consuls "245 ab urbe condita" (a.u.c.).

According to Lucius Tarrutius of Firmum, Romulus was conceived on the 23rd day of the Egyptian month Choiac, at the time of a total eclipse of the sun. This eclipse occurred on June 15, 763 BC, with a magnitude of 62.5% at Rome. He was born on the 21st day of the month of Thoth. The first day of Thoth fell on 2 March in that year (Prof. E. J. Bickerman, 1980: 115). That implies that Rhea Silvia's pregnancy lasted for 281 days. Rome was founded on the ninth day of the month Pharmuthi, which was April 21, as universally agreed. The Romans add that, about the time Romulus started to build the city, an eclipse of the Sun was observed by Antimachus, the Teian poet, on the 30th day of the lunar month. This eclipse (see above) had a magnitude of 54.6% at Teos, Asia Minor. Romulus vanished in the 54th year of his life, on the Nones of Quintilis (July), on a day when the Sun was darkened. The day turned into night, which sudden darkness was believed to be an eclipse of the Sun. It occurred on July 17, 709 BC, with a magnitude of 93.7%. (All these eclipse data have been calculated by Prof. Aurél Ponori-Thewrewk, retired director of the Planetarium of Budapest.) Plutarch placed it in the 37th year from the foundation of Rome, on the fifth of our month July, then called Quintiles, on "Caprotine Nones". Livy (I, 21) also states that Romulus ruled for 37 years. He was slain by the Senate or disappeared in the 38th year of his reign. Most of these have been recorded by Plutarch (Lives of Romulus, Numa Pompilius and Camillus), Florus (Book I, I), Cicero (The Republic VI, 22: Scipio's Dream), Dio (Dion) Cassius and Dionysius of Halicarnassus (L. 2). Dio in his Roman History (Book I) confirms these data by telling that Romulus was in his 18th year of age when he founded Rome. Therefore, three eclipse records indicate that Romulus reigned from 746 BC to 709 BC. Surprisingly this is very close to the calculation of the founding given by Rome's first native historical writer Quintus Fabius Pictor, who wrote that Rome was founded in the first year of the eighth Olympiad, 747 BC (Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Book 1, ch. 74,2).

In the modern period debate has raged over the validity of the stories of Rome's foundation. Scholars have supported both extremes—those who want to believe nothing of the legend, and those who want to believe the legend wholeheartedly without skepticism. Archaeology offers the best chance of sorting out the debate, and indeed recent discoveries on the Palatine Hill in Rome have offered some tantalizing pieces of evidence. Chief among these is a series of fortification walls on the north slope of the Palatine Hill that can be dated to the middle of the 8th century B.C., precisely the time when legend says Romulus plowed a furrow (sulcus) around the Palatine in order to mark the boundary of his new city. The remains of the wall, and other evidence, has been discovered by the excavations of Andrea Carandini.

The name of Rome

The name of the town is generally considered to refer to Romulus, but there are other hypotheses. Some have suggested an Etruscan word, "rhome", meaning "hard", cognate with Greek "ῥώμη, rhōmē", strength, vigor.[2] Another one of them refers it to Roma, who is supposed to have been the daughter of Aeneas or Evander. The Basque scholar Manuel de Larramendi thought that the origin was the Basque word orma (modern Basque horma), "wall".

Rome is also the Urbs, and this name (that in later Latin generically meant any towns) comes from urvus, the furrow cut by a plough– in this case, by that of Romulus. Urbs could also come from Urbs, Urbis meaning city in Latin.

On the Capitoline hill, at noon on April 21 every year, a special bell called Patarina rings from the Campidoglio to commemorate the founding of Rome. On that occasion, the famous cannon of Gianicolo remains silent, the only day in the year on which it does not sound.

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Roma by night by Debreczeni Mihály

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Roma - Motoday 2018 by Fernando Maria Maurizio POTENZA

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Roma by Yuriy Victor

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