About Rome

Rome - The capital of Italy and of the Lazio region, as well as the country's largest and most populous comune. It's history begins in a small village in the central Italy to the absolute dominant power of the entire peninsula. Rome's extraordinary achievements and the unparalleled string of influential people shaped the whole of Europe and even the rest of the world. The history of Rome is usually divided into three main periods as before the rise of Rome, Roman Republic and the Roman Empire.One super powered nation, encompassing thousands of cultures kept order, stability and civilization in an ancient world fraught with turmoil. The fall of Rome, and the centuries of Dark Ages that followed illustrates the awesome responsibility, reach and impact of the Empire. Even today, Roman law and foundation of government forms the basis of several modern democracies.

The city is built on seven hills. Palatino is one of the seven hills on which Rome was built and wheremost treasures were found. The other six are now the Aventine (Collis Aventinus), the Capitoline (Capitolinus), the Quirinal (Quirinalis), the Viminal (Viminalis), the Esquiline (Esquilinus) and the Caelian (Caelius) which stands between Palatino and Quirinale. On the tops of the seven hills there are a number of beautiful views, but the best ones are from Pincio, the top of San Pitetro and Geanicolo. In a few more centuries, the Roman Empire's might reached as far north as Britain, east to Persia and in the south it encompassed the whole of Northern Africa.

Rome has Italy's third metropolitan area having about 2.5 million residents. It is located in the central-western portion of the Italian peninsula, where the river Aniene joins the Tiber. Rome is also identified with the Catholic Church. Now Popes are the holders of this episcopal seat. An enclave of Rome is the State of the Vatican City, the sovereign territory of the Holy See and smallest nation in the world. It is oldest city of Italy, Now Rome is known as - the Eternal City. Early Rome was governed by kings, but after only seven of them had ruled, the Romans took power over their own city and ruled themselves, they had a council known as the 'senate' which ruled over them. From this point on one speaks of the 'Roman Republic'. The word 'Republic' is a Latin (the language of the Romans) word that mean 'public matters' or 'matters of state'. The senate under the kings had only been there to advise the king.

With the passing of the years, the city became increasingly Christian, while the empire fell into a fatal period of difficulty. The Pope became more and more powerful, building the grounds for the birth of the Holy Roman Empire (800 A.D.), which gave rise to the coronation of Charlemagne by the Pope.The City of Rome is halfway down the Italian West Coast. The city itself is very large and the historical center is small. It is only 12 miles from the coast, and has the best of a major city along with the peace and calm of the Mediterranean beaches. It is now a major metropolitan city and is visited by people all over the world who come to see its vast cultural exhibits and bask in its glory.