Rome

For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation).

Rome
Roma (Italian)
Capital city and comune
Roma Capitale
Rome skyline from Castel Sant'Angelo
Trevi Fountain
Colosseum
Barcaccia, Spanish Steps and Trinità dei Monti
Saint Peter's Basilica
Castel Sant'Angelo
Pantheon and Piazza della Rotonda
Victor Emmanuel II Monument
Flag
Coat of arms
Etymology: various theories (See Etymology).
Nickname(s): 
Urbs Aeterna (Latin)
The Eternal City
Caput Mundi (Latin)
The Capital of the world
Throne of St. Peter
The territory of the comune (Roma Capitale, in red) inside the Metropolitan City of Rome (Città Metropolitana di Roma, in yellow). The white spot in the centre is Vatican City.
The territory of the comune (Roma Capitale, in red) inside the Metropolitan City of Rome (Città Metropolitana di Roma, in yellow). The white spot in the centre is Vatican City.
Map
Rome is located in Italy
Rome
Rome
Location within Italy
Rome is located in Europe
Rome
Rome
Location within Europe
Coordinates: 41°54′N 12°29′E / 41.900°N 12.483°E / 41.900; 12.483
CountryItaly[a]
RegionLazio
Metropolitan cityRome Capital
Founded21 April 753 BC
Founded byKing Romulus (legendary)[1]
Government
 • TypeStrong Mayor–Council
 • MayorRoberto Gualtieri (PD)
 • LegislatureCapitoline Assembly
Area
 • Total
1,285 km2 (496.3 sq mi)
Elevation
21 m (69 ft)
Population
 (31 December 2019)
 • Rank8th in Europe
1st in Italy
 • Density2,236/km2 (5,790/sq mi)
 • Comune
2,860,009[2]
 • Metropolitan City
4,342,212[3]
Demonym(s)Italian: romano(i) (masculine), romana(e) (feminine)
English: Roman(s)
GDP
[4]
 • Metro€153.507 billion (2020)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
CAP code(s)
00100; 00118 to 00199
Area code06
Websitecomune.roma.it
Official nameHistoric Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San Paolo Fuori le Mura
Reference91
Inscription1980 (4th Session)
Area1,431 ha (3,540 acres)

Rome (Italian and Latin: Roma, pronounced [ˈroːma] ⓘ) is the capital city of Italy. It is also the capital of the Lazio region, the centre of the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, and a special comune (municipality) named Comune di Roma Capitale. With 2,860,009 residents in 1,285 km2 (496.1 sq mi),[2] Rome is the country's most populated comune and the third most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. The Metropolitan City of Rome, with a population of 4,355,725 residents, is the most populous metropolitan city in Italy.[3] Its metropolitan area is the third-most populous within Italy.[5] Rome is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio (Latium), along the shores of the Tiber Valley. Vatican City (the smallest country in the world and headquarters of the worldwide Catholic Church under the governance of the Holy See)[6] is an independent country inside the city boundaries of Rome, the only existing example of a country within a city. Rome is often referred to as the City of Seven Hills due to its geographic location, and also as the "Eternal City". Rome is generally considered to be the cradle of Western civilization and Western Christian culture, and the centre of the Catholic Church.[7][8][9]

Rome's history spans 28 centuries. While Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it a major human settlement for over three millennia and one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in Europe.[10] The city's early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans, and Sabines. Eventually, the city successively became the capital of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, and is regarded by many as the first-ever Imperial city and metropolis.[11] It was first called The Eternal City (Latin: Urbs Aeterna; Italian: La Città Eterna) by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy.[12][13] Rome is also called Caput Mundi (Capital of the World).

After the fall of the Empire in the west, which marked the beginning of the Middle Ages, Rome slowly fell under the political control of the Papacy, and in the 8th century, it became the capital of the Papal States, which lasted until 1870. Beginning with the Renaissance, almost all popes since Nicholas V (1447–1455) pursued a coherent architectural and urban programme over four hundred years, aimed at making the city the artistic and cultural centre of the world.[14] In this way, Rome first became one of the major centres of the Renaissance[15] and then became the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism. Famous artists, painters, sculptors, and architects made Rome the centre of their activity, creating masterpieces throughout the city. In 1871, Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, which, in 1946, became the Italian Republic.

In 2019, Rome was the 14th most visited city in the world, with 8.6 million tourists, the third most visited city in the European Union, and the most popular tourist destination in Italy.[16] Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.[17] The host city for the 1960 Summer Olympics, Rome is also the seat of several specialised agencies of the United Nations, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the UN System Network on Rural Development and Food Security. The city also hosts the European Union (EU) Delegation to the United Nations (UN) and the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean[18] (UfM) as well as the headquarters of several Italian multinational companies, such as Eni, Enel, TIM, Leonardo, and banks such as BNL. Numerous companies are based within Rome's EUR business district, such as the luxury fashion house Fendi located in the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana. The presence of renowned international brands in the city has made Rome an important centre of fashion and design, and the Cinecittà Studios have been the set of many Academy Award–winning movies.[19]


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference britannica was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b "I numeri di Roma Capitale" (PDF). Comune di Roma. 31 December 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 May 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Popolazione residente al 1° gennaio". Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  4. ^ "Gross domestic product (GDP) at current market prices by metropolitan regions". ec.europa.eu.
  5. ^ "Principal Agglomerations of the World". Citypopulation. January 2017. Archived from the original on 4 July 2010. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  6. ^ "What is the smallest country in the world?". History.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  7. ^ Beretta, Silvio (2017). Understanding China Today: An Exploration of Politics, Economics, Society, and International Relations. Springer. p. 320. ISBN 9783319296258.
  8. ^ B. Bahr, Ann Marie (2009). Christianity: Religions of the World. Infobase Publishing. p. 139. ISBN 9781438106397.
  9. ^ R. D'Agostino, Peter (2005). Rome in America: Transnational Catholic Ideology from the Risorgimento to Fascism. Univ of North Carolina Press. ISBN 9780807863411.
  10. ^ Heiken, G., Funiciello, R. and De Rita, D. (2005), The Seven Hills of Rome: A Geological Tour of the Eternal City. Princeton University Press.
  11. ^ "Old Age in Ancient Rome – History Today". Archived from the original on 12 June 2018.
  12. ^ Stephanie Malia Hom (28 May 2024). "Consuming the View: Tourism, Rome, and the Topos of the Eternal City". Annali d'Igtalianistica. 28: 91–116. JSTOR 24016389.
  13. ^ Andres Perez, Javier (2010). "Approximación a la Iconografía de Roma Aeterna" (PDF). El Futuro del Pasado. pp. 349–363. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  14. ^ Giovannoni, Gustavo (1958). Topografia e urbanistica di Roma (in Italian). Rome: Istituto di Studi Romani. pp. 346–347.
  15. ^ "Rome, city, Italy". Columbia Encyclopedia (6th ed.). 2009. Archived from the original on 24 March 2010.
  16. ^ "World's most visited cities". CNN. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016.
  17. ^ "Historic Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San Paolo Fuori le Mura". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 24 February 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
  18. ^ "Rome chosen as seat of Euro-Med Assembly secretariat – Italy". ANSAmed. 13 July 2018. Archived from the original on 2 December 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  19. ^ "Cinecittà: Dream Factory". Italian Tourism. 23 March 2015. Archived from the original on 18 April 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.