Rome (Italian and Latin: Roma, Italian: [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. Vatican City (the smallest country in the world)[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 almost 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) and
the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The city also hosts the Secretariat of
the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean[18] (UfM) as well as the
headquarters of many 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]

Name and symbol

Etymology
According to the Ancient Romans' founding myth,[20] the name Roma came from the city's founder
and first king, Romulus.[1]

However, it is possible that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself.[21] As early
as the 4th century, there have been alternative theories proposed on the origin of the
name Roma. Several hypotheses have been advanced focusing on its linguistic roots which
however remain uncertain:[22]

• From Rumon or Rumen, archaic name of the Tiber, which in turn is supposedly
related to the Greek verb ῥέω (rhéō) 'to flow, stream' and the Latin verb ruō 'to hurry,
rush';[b]
• From the Etruscan word 𐌓𐌖𐌌𐌀 (ruma), whose root is *rum- "teat", with possible
reference either to the totem wolf that adopted and suckled the cognately named
twins Romulus and Remus, or to the shape of the Palatine and Aventine Hills;
• From the Greek word ῥώμη (rhṓmē), which means strength.[c]
Other names and symbols
Rome has also been called in ancient times simply "Urbs" (central city),[23] from urbs roma, or
identified with its ancient Roman initialism of SPQR, the symbol of Rome's constituted republican
government. Furthermore, Rome has been called Urbs Aeterna (The Eternal City), Caput
Mundi (The Capital of the world), Throne of St. Peter and Roma Capitale.

History
Main article: History of Rome
For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Rome.

Earliest history
Main article: Founding of Rome
Historical States

• Roman Kingdom 753–509 BC

• Roman Republic 509–27 BC
• Roman Empire 27 BC– 395 AD
• Western Roman Empire 286–476
• Kingdom of Italy 476–493
• Ostrogothic Kingdom 493–536
• Eastern Roman Empire 536–546
• Ostrogothic Kingdom 546–547
• Eastern Roman Empire 547–549
• Ostrogothic Kingdom 549–552
• Eastern Roman Empire 552–751
• Kingdom of the Lombards 751–756
• Papal States 756–1798
• Roman Republic 1798–1799
• Papal States 1799–1809
• First French Empire 1809–1814
• Papal States 1814–1849
• Roman Republic 1849
• Papal States 1849–1870
• Kingdom of Italy 1870–1943
• Italian Social Republic 1943–1944
• Kingdom of Italy 1944–1946
• Italian Republic 1946–present
 Model of archaic Rome. The image faces northeast, with the
Capitoline hill on left and the Palatine on right. The city would not have looked like this prior to the
seventh century BC.
While there have been discoveries of archaeological evidence of human occupation of the Rome
area from approximately 14,000 years ago, the dense layer of much younger debris
obscures Palaeolithic and Neolithic sites.[10] Evidence of stone tools, pottery, and stone weapons
attest to about 10,000 years of human presence. Several excavations support the view that Rome
grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman
Forum. Between the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age, each hill between
the sea and the Capitoline Hill was topped by a village (on the Capitoline, a village is attested
since the end of the 14th century BC).[24] However, none of them yet had an urban
quality.[24] Nowadays, there is a wide consensus that the city developed gradually through the
aggregation ("synoecism") of several villages around the largest one, placed above the
Palatine.[24] This aggregation was facilitated by the increase of agricultural productivity above
the subsistence level, which also allowed the establishment of secondary and tertiary activities.
These, in turn, boosted the development of trade with the Greek colonies of southern Italy
(mainly Ischia and Cumae).[24] These developments, which according to archaeological evidence
took place during the mid-eighth century BC, can be considered as the "birth" of the
city.[24] Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome was founded
deliberately in the middle of the eighth century BC, as the legend of Romulus suggests, remains a
fringe hypothesis.[25]

Legend of the founding of Rome

Main articles: Romulus and Remus and Romulus

Capitoline Wolf, a sculpture of the mythical she-wolf suckling

the infant twins Romulus and Remus
Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of
their city in terms of legend and myth. The most familiar of these myths, and perhaps the most
famous of all Roman myths, is the story of Romulus and Remus, the twins who were suckled by
a she-wolf.[20] They decided to build a city, but after an argument, Romulus killed his brother and
the city took his name. According to the Roman annalists, this happened on 21 April 753
BC.[26] This legend had to be reconciled with a dual tradition, set earlier in time, that had
the Trojan refugee Aeneas escape to Italy and found the line of Romans through his son Iulus,
the namesake of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.[27] This was accomplished by the Roman
poet Virgil in the first century BC. In addition, Strabo mentions an older story, that the city was
an Arcadian colony founded by Evander. Strabo also writes that Lucius Coelius
Antipater believed that Rome was founded by Greeks.[28][29]
Monarchy and republic
Main articles: Ancient Rome, Roman Kingdom, and Roman Republic

The Temple of Portunus, god of grain storage, keys, livestock and

ports,[30] built between 120 and 80 BC The Roman Forum contains

the ruins of the buildings that represented the political, legal, religious and economic centre of
ancient Rome, constituting the "nerve centre" of all Roman civilisation.[31]
After the foundation by Romulus according to a legend,[26] Rome was ruled for a period of 244
years by a monarchical system, initially with sovereigns of Latin and Sabine origin, later
by Etruscan kings. The tradition handed down seven kings: Romulus, Numa Pompilius, Tullus
Hostilius, Ancus Marcius, Tarquinius Priscus, Servius Tullius and Lucius Tarquinius Superbus.[26]

In 509 BC, the Romans expelled the last king from their city and established
an oligarchic republic. Rome then began a period characterised by internal struggles
between patricians (aristocrats) and plebeians (small landowners), and by constant warfare
against the populations of central Italy: Etruscans, Latins, Volsci, Aequi, and Marsi.[32] After
becoming master of Latium, Rome led several wars (against the Gauls, Osci-Samnites and the
Greek colony of Taranto, allied with Pyrrhus, king of Epirus) whose result was the conquest of
the Italian peninsula, from the central area up to Magna Graecia.[33]

The third and second century BC saw the establishment of Roman hegemony over
the Mediterranean and the Balkans, through the three Punic Wars (264–146 BC) fought against
the city of Carthage and the three Macedonian Wars (212–168 BC) against Macedonia.[34] The
first Roman provinces were established at this time: Sicily, Sardinia and
Corsica, Hispania, Macedonia, Achaea and Africa.[35]

From the beginning of the 2nd century BC, power was contested between two groups of
aristocrats: the optimates, representing the conservative part of the Senate, and the populares,
which relied on the help of the plebs (urban lower class) to gain power. In the same period, the
bankruptcy of the small farmers and the establishment of large slave estates caused large-scale
migration to the city. The continuous warfare led to the establishment of a professional army,
which turned out to be more loyal to its generals than to the republic. Because of this, in the
second half of the second century and during the first century BC there were conflicts both
abroad and internally: after the failed attempt of social reform of the populares Tiberius and Gaius
Gracchus,[36] and the war against Jugurtha,[36] there was a civil war from which the
general Sulla emerged victorious.[36] A major slave revolt under Spartacus followed,[37] and then
the establishment of the first Triumvirate with Caesar, Pompey and Crassus.[37]

The conquest of Gaul made Caesar immensely powerful and popular, which led to a second civil
war against the Senate and Pompey. After his victory, Caesar established himself as dictator for
life.[37] His assassination led to a second Triumvirate among Octavian (Caesar's grandnephew and
heir), Mark Antony and Lepidus, and to another civil war between Octavian and Antony.[38]

Empire
Main article: Roman Empire

The Ancient-Imperial-Roman palaces of the Palatine, a series of

palaces located in the Palatine Hill, express power and wealth of emperors from Augustus until the

4th century. The Imperial fora belong to a series of monumental

fora (public squares) constructed in Rome by the emperors. Also seen in the image is Trajan's Market.

Model of Imperial Rome at the Museo della civiltà romana in

Rome. The Temple of Claudius is situated to the south (left) of the Colosseum.
In 27 BC, Octavian became princeps civitatis and took the title of Augustus, founding
the principate, a diarchy between the princeps and the senate.[38] During the reign of Nero, two
thirds of the city was ruined after the Great Fire of Rome, and the persecution of
Christians commenced.[39][40][41] Rome was established as a de facto empire, which reached its
greatest expansion in the second century under the Emperor Trajan. Rome was confirmed
as caput Mundi, i.e. the capital of the known world, an expression which had already been used
in the Republican period. During its first two centuries, the empire was ruled by emperors of
the Julio-Claudian,[42] Flavian (who also built an eponymous amphitheatre, known as
the Colosseum),[42] and Antonine dynasties.[43] This time was also characterised by the spread of
the Christian religion, preached by Jesus Christ in Judea in the first half of the first century
(under Tiberius) and popularised by his apostles through the empire and beyond.[44] The Antonine
age is considered the zenith of the Empire, whose territory ranged from the Atlantic Ocean to
the Euphrates and from Britain to Egypt.[43]
 Colosseum at night
After the end of the Severan Dynasty in 235, the Empire entered into a 50-year period known as
the Crisis of the Third Century during which there were numerous putsches by generals, who
sought to secure the region of the empire they were entrusted with due to the weakness of central
authority in Rome. There was the so-called Gallic Empire from 260 to 274 and the revolts of
Zenobia and her father from the mid-260s which sought to fend off Persian incursions. Some
regions – Britain, Spain, and North Africa – were hardly affected. Instability caused economic
deterioration, and there was a rapid rise in inflation as the government debased the currency in
order to meet expenses. The Germanic tribes along the Rhine and north of the Balkans made
serious, uncoordinated incursions from the 250s–280s that were more like giant raiding parties
rather than attempts to settle. The Persian Empire invaded from the east several times during the
230s to 260s but were eventually defeated.[45] Emperor Diocletian (284) undertook the restoration
of the State. He ended the Principate and introduced the Tetrarchy which sought to increase state
power. The most marked feature was the unprecedented intervention of the State down to the city
level: whereas the State had submitted a tax demand to a city and allowed it to allocate the
charges, from his reign the State did this down to the village level. In a vain attempt to control
inflation, he imposed price controls which did not last. He or Constantine regionalised the
administration of the empire which fundamentally changed the way it was governed by creating
regional dioceses (the consensus seems to have shifted from 297 to 313/14 as the date of
creation due to the argument of Constantin Zuckerman in 2002 "Sur la liste de Vérone et la
province de Grande-Arménie, Mélanges Gilber Dagron). The existence of regional fiscal units
from 286 served as the model for this unprecedented innovation. The emperor quickened the
process of removing military command from governors. Henceforth, civilian administration and
military command would be separate. He gave governors more fiscal duties and placed them in
charge of the army logistical support system as an attempt to control it by removing the support
system from its control. Diocletian ruled the eastern half, residing in Nicomedia. In 296, he
elevated Maximian to Augustus of the western half, where he ruled mostly
from Mediolanum when not on the move.[45] In 292, he created two 'junior' emperors, the Caesars,
one for each Augustus, Constantius for Britain, Gaul, and Spain whose seat of power was
in Trier and Galerius in Sirmium in the Balkans. The appointment of a Caesar was not unknown:
Diocletian tried to turn into a system of non-dynastic succession. Upon abdication in 305, the
Caesars succeeded and they, in turn, appointed two colleagues for themselves.[45]

After the abdication of Diocletian and Maximian in 305 and a series of civil wars between rival
claimants to imperial power, during the years 306–313, the Tetrarchy was
abandoned. Constantine the Great undertook a major reform of the bureaucracy, not by changing
the structure but by rationalising the competencies of the several ministries during the years 325–
330, after he defeated Licinius, emperor in the East, at the end of 324. The so-called Edict of
Milan of 313, actually a fragment of a letter from Licinius to the governors of the eastern
provinces, granted freedom of worship to everyone, including Christians, and ordered the
restoration of confiscated church properties upon petition to the newly created vicars of dioceses.
He funded the building of several churches and allowed clergy to act as arbitrators in civil suits (a
measure that did not outlast him but which was restored in part much later). He transformed the
town of Byzantium into his new residence, which, however, was not officially anything more than
an imperial residence like Milan or Trier or Nicomedia until given a city prefect in May 359
by Constantius II; Constantinople.[46]
Christianity in the form of the Nicene Creed became the official religion of the empire in 380, via
the Edict of Thessalonica issued in the name of three emperors – Gratian, Valentinian II,
and Theodosius I – with Theodosius clearly the driving force behind it. He was the last emperor of
a unified empire: after his death in 395, his sons, Arcadius and Honorius divided the empire into a
western and an eastern part. The seat of government in the Western Roman Empire was
transferred to Ravenna in 408, but from 450 the emperors mostly resided in the capital city,
Rome.[47]

The Visigoths sacking Rome in 410, by Joseph-Noël Sylvestre (1890), the

first time in c. 800 years that Rome had fallen to a foreign enemy
Rome, which had lost its central role in the administration of the empire, was sacked in 410 by
the Visigoths led by Alaric I,[48] but very little physical damage was done, most of which was
repaired. What could not be so easily replaced were portable items such as artwork in precious
metals and items for domestic use (loot). The popes embellished the city with large basilicas,
such as Santa Maria Maggiore (with the collaboration of the emperors). The population of the city
had fallen from 800,000 to 450–500,000 by the time the city was sacked in 455 by Genseric, king
of the Vandals.[49] The weak emperors of the fifth century could not stop the decay, leading to the
deposition of Romulus Augustus on 22 August 476, which marked the end of the Western Roman
Empire and, for many historians, the beginning of the Middle Ages.[46]

The decline of the city's population was caused by the loss of grain shipments from North Africa,
from 440 onward, and the unwillingness of the senatorial class to maintain donations to support a
population that was too large for the resources available. Even so, strenuous efforts were made
to maintain the monumental centre, the palatine, and the largest baths, which continued to
function until the Gothic siege of 537. The large baths of Constantine on the Quirinale were even
repaired in 443, and the extent of the damage exaggerated and dramatised.[50]

However, the city gave an appearance overall of shabbiness and decay because of the large
abandoned areas due to population decline. The population declined to 500,000 by 452 and
100,000 by 500 AD (perhaps larger, though no certain figure can be known). After the Gothic
siege of 537, the population dropped to 30,000 but had risen to 90,000 by the papacy of Gregory
the Great.[51] The population decline coincided with the general collapse of urban life in the West
in the fifth and sixth centuries, with few exceptions. Subsidized state grain distributions to the
poorer members of society continued right through the sixth century and probably prevented the
population from falling further.[52] The figure of 450,000–500,000 is based on the amount of pork,
3,629,000 lbs. distributed to poorer Romans during five winter months at the rate of five Roman
lbs per person per month, enough for 145,000 persons or 1/4 or 1/3 of the total
population.[53] Grain distribution to 80,000 ticket holders at the same time suggests 400,000
(Augustus set the number at 200,000 or one-fifth of the population).

Middle Ages
Further information: Fall of the Western Roman Empire

The Vandals sacking Rome in 455, by Karl Briullov (1830s)

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD, Rome was first under the control
of Odoacer and then became part of the Ostrogothic Kingdom before returning to East
Roman control after the Gothic War, which devastated the city in 546 and 550. Its population
declined from more than a million in 210 AD to 500,000 in 273[54] to 35,000 after the Gothic War
(535–554),[55] reducing the sprawling city to groups of inhabited buildings interspersed among
large areas of ruins, vegetation, vineyards and market gardens.[56] It is generally thought the
population of the city until 300 AD was 1 million (estimates range from 2 million to 750,000)
declining to 750–800,000 in 400 AD, 450–500,000 in 450 AD and down to 80–100,000 in 500 AD
(though it may have been twice this).[57]

The Bishop of Rome, called the Pope, was important since the early days of Christianity because
of the martyrdom of both the apostles Peter and Paul there. The Bishops of Rome were also seen
(and still are seen by Catholics) as the successors of Peter, who is considered the first Bishop of
Rome. The city thus became of increasing importance as the centre of the Catholic Church.

After the Lombard invasion of Italy (569–572), the city remained nominally Byzantine, but in
reality, the popes pursued a policy of equilibrium between the Byzantines, the Franks, and
the Lombards.[58] In 729, the Lombard king Liutprand donated the north Latium town of Sutri to the
Church, starting its temporal power.[58] In 756, Pepin the Short, after having defeated the
Lombards, gave the Pope temporal jurisdiction over the Roman Duchy and the Exarchate of
Ravenna, thus creating the Papal States.[58] Since this period, three powers tried to rule the city:
the pope, the nobility (together with the chiefs of militias, the judges, the Senate and the
populace), and the Frankish king, as king of the Lombards, patricius, and Emperor.[58] These three
parties (theocratic, republican, and imperial) were a characteristic of Roman life during the entire
Middle Ages.[58] On Christmas night of 800, Charlemagne was crowned in Rome as emperor of
the Holy Roman Empire by Pope Leo III: on that occasion, the city hosted for the first time the two
powers whose struggle for control was to be a constant of the Middle Ages.[58]
 Detail from an illustration by Raphael, portraying the crowning
of Charlemagne in Old Saint Peter's Basilica, on 25 December 800
In 846, Muslim Arabs unsuccessfully stormed the city's walls, but managed to loot St. Peter's and
St. Paul's basilica, both outside the city wall.[59] After the decay of Carolingian power, Rome fell
prey to feudal chaos: several noble families fought against the pope, the emperor, and each
other. These were the times of Theodora and her daughter Marozia, concubines and mothers of
several popes, and of Crescentius, a powerful feudal lord, who fought against the Emperors Otto
II and Otto III.[60] The scandals of this period forced the papacy to reform itself: the election of the
pope was reserved to the cardinals, and reform of the clergy was attempted. The driving force
behind this renewal was the monk Ildebrando da Soana, who once elected pope under the name
of Gregory VII became involved into the Investiture Controversy against Emperor Henry
IV.[60] Subsequently, Rome was sacked and burned by the Normans under Robert Guiscard who
had entered the city in support of the Pope, then besieged in Castel Sant'Angelo.[60]

During this period, the city was autonomously ruled by a senatore or patrizio. In the 12th century,
this administration, like other European cities, evolved into the commune, a new form of social
organisation controlled by the new wealthy classes.[60] Pope Lucius II fought against the Roman
commune, and the struggle was continued by his successor Pope Eugenius III: by this stage, the
commune, allied with the aristocracy, was supported by Arnaldo da Brescia, a monk who was a
religious and social reformer.[61] After the pope's death, Arnaldo was taken prisoner by Adrianus
IV, which marked the end of the commune's autonomy.[61] Under Pope Innocent III, whose reign
marked the apogee of the papacy, the commune liquidated the senate, and replaced it with
a Senatore, who was subject to the pope.[61]

In this period, the papacy played a role of secular importance in Western Europe, often acting as
arbitrators between Christian monarchs and exercising additional political powers.[62][63][64]

In 1266, Charles of Anjou, who was heading south to fight the Hohenstaufen on behalf of the
pope, was appointed Senator. Charles founded the Sapienza, the university of Rome.[61] In that
period the pope died, and the cardinals, summoned in Viterbo, could not agree on his successor.
This angered the people of the city, who then unroofed the building where they met and
imprisoned them until they had nominated the new pope; this marked the birth of
the conclave.[61] In this period the city was also shattered by continuous fights between the
aristocratic families: Annibaldi, Caetani, Colonna, Orsini, Conti, nested in their fortresses built
above ancient Roman edifices, fought each other to control the papacy.[61]
 Pope Gregory XI returned to Rome in 1376 and ended
the Avignon Papacy.
Pope Boniface VIII, born Caetani, was the last pope to fight for the church's universal domain; he
proclaimed a crusade against the Colonna family and, in 1300, called for the first Jubilee of
Christianity, which brought millions of pilgrims to Rome.[61] However, his hopes were crushed by
the French king Philip the Fair, who took him prisoner and killed him in Anagni.[61] Afterwards, a
new pope faithful to the French was elected, and the papacy was briefly
relocated to Avignon (1309–1377).[65] During this period Rome was neglected, until a plebeian
man, Cola di Rienzo, came to power.[65] An idealist and a lover of ancient Rome, Cola dreamed
about a rebirth of the Roman Empire: after assuming power with the title of Tribuno, his reforms
were rejected by the populace.[65] Forced to flee, Cola returned as part of the entourage of
Cardinal Albornoz, who was charged with restoring the Church's power in Italy.[65] Back in power
for a short time, Cola was soon lynched by the populace, and Albornoz took possession of the
city. In 1377, Rome became the seat of the papacy again under Gregory XI.[65] The return of the
pope to Rome in that year unleashed the Western Schism (1377–1418), and for the next forty
years, the city was affected by the divisions which rocked the Church.[65]

Early modern history

Main article: Roman Renaissance

Almost 500 years old, this map of Rome by Mario Cartaro (from

1575) shows the city's primary monuments. Castel Sant'Angelo,

or Hadrian's Mausoleum, is a Roman monument radically altered in the Middle Ages and the
Renaissance, built in 134 AD and crowned with 16th and 17th-century statues.

Fontana della Barcaccia, created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in 1629

In 1418, the Council of Constance settled the Western Schism, and a Roman pope, Martin V, was
elected.[65] This brought to Rome a century of internal peace, which marked the beginning of
the Renaissance.[65] The ruling popes until the first half of the 16th century, from Nicholas V,
founder of the Vatican Library, to Pius II, humanist and literate, from Sixtus IV, a warrior pope,
to Alexander VI, immoral and nepotist, from Julius II, soldier and patron, to Leo X, who gave his
name to this period ("the century of Leo X"), all devoted their energy to the greatness and the
beauty of the Eternal City and to the patronage of the arts.[65]

During those years, the centre of the Italian Renaissance moved to Rome from Florence. Majestic
works, as the new Saint Peter's Basilica, the Sistine Chapel and Ponte Sisto (the first bridge to be
built across the Tiber since antiquity, although on Roman foundations) were created. To
accomplish that, the Popes engaged the best artists of the time,
including Michelangelo, Perugino, Raphael, Ghirlandaio, Luca Signorelli, Botticelli, and Cosimo
Rosselli.

The period was also infamous for papal corruption, with many Popes fathering children, and
engaging in nepotism and simony. The corruption of the Popes and the huge expenses for their
building projects led, in part, to the Reformation and, in turn, the Counter-Reformation. Under
extravagant and rich popes, Rome was transformed into a centre of art, poetry, music, literature,
education and culture. Rome became able to compete with other major European cities of the
time in terms of wealth, grandeur, the arts, learning and architecture.

The Renaissance period changed the face of Rome dramatically, with works like the Pietà by
Michelangelo and the frescoes of the Borgia Apartments. Rome reached the highest point of
splendour under Pope Julius II (1503–1513) and his successors Leo X and Clement VII, both
members of the Medici family.
 Carnival in Rome, c. 1650, by Johannes Lingelbach

A View of the Piazza Navona, Rome, by Hendrik Frans van

Lint, c. 1730
In this twenty-year period, Rome became one of the greatest centres of art in the world. The old
St. Peter's Basilica built by Emperor Constantine the Great[66] (which by then was in a dilapidated
state) was demolished and a new one begun. The city hosted artists
like Ghirlandaio, Perugino, Botticelli and Bramante, who built the temple of San Pietro in
Montorio and planned a great project to renovate the Vatican. Raphael, who in Rome became
one of the most famous painters of Italy, created frescoes in the Villa Farnesina, the Raphael's
Rooms, plus many other famous paintings. Michelangelo started the decoration of the ceiling of
the Sistine Chapel and executed the famous statue of the Moses for the tomb of Julius II.

Its economy was rich, with the presence of several Tuscan bankers, including Agostino Chigi,
who was a friend of Raphael and a patron of arts. Before his early death, Raphael also promoted
for the first time the preservation of the ancient ruins. The War of the League of Cognac caused
the first plunder of the city in more than five hundred years since the previous sack; in 1527,
the Landsknechts of Emperor Charles V sacked the city, bringing an abrupt end to the golden age
of the Renaissance in Rome.[65]

Beginning with the Council of Trent in 1545, the Church began the Counter-Reformation in
response to the Reformation, a large-scale questioning of the Church's authority on spiritual
matters and governmental affairs. This loss of confidence led to major shifts of power away from
the Church.[65] Under the popes from Pius IV to Sixtus V, Rome became the centre of a reformed
Catholicism and saw the building of new monuments which celebrated the papacy.[67] The popes
and cardinals of the 17th and early 18th centuries continued the movement by having the city's
landscape enriched with baroque buildings.[67]

This was another nepotistic age; the new aristocratic families

(Barberini, Pamphili, Chigi, Rospigliosi, Altieri, Odescalchi) were protected by their respective
popes, who built huge baroque buildings for their relatives.[67] During the Age of Enlightenment,
new ideas reached the Eternal City, where the papacy supported archaeological studies and
improved the people's welfare.[65] But not everything went well for the Church during the Counter-
Reformation. There were setbacks in the attempts to assert the Church's power, a notable
example being in 1773 when Pope Clement XIV was forced by secular powers to have the Jesuit
order suppressed.[65]

Late modern and contemporary

 Bersaglieri troops breaching the Aurelian Walls at Porta
Pia during the Capture of Rome (1870), the final event of the Italian unification. Painting by Carlo
Ademollo.
The rule of the Popes was interrupted by the short-lived Roman Republic (1798–1800), which
was established under the influence of the French Revolution. The Papal States were restored in
June 1800, but during Napoleon's reign Rome was annexed as a Département of the French
Empire: first as Département du Tibre (1808–1810) and then as Département Rome (1810–
1814). After the fall of Napoleon, the Papal States were reconstituted by a decision of
the Congress of Vienna of 1814.

In 1849, a second Roman Republic was proclaimed during a year of revolutions in 1848. Two of
the most influential figures of the Italian unification, Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi,
fought for the short-lived republic.

Rome then became the focus of hopes of Italian reunification after the rest of Italy was united as
the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 with the temporary capital in Florence. That year Rome was declared
the capital of Italy even though it was still under the Pope's control. During the 1860s, the last
vestiges of the Papal States were under French protection thanks to the foreign policy
of Napoleon III. French troops were stationed in the region under Papal control. In 1870 the
French troops were withdrawn due to the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War. Italian troops
were able to capture Rome entering the city through a breach near Porta Pia. Pope Pius
IX declared himself a prisoner in the Vatican. In 1871 the capital of Italy was moved from
Florence to Rome.[68] In 1870 the population of the city was 212,000, all of whom lived with the
area circumscribed by the ancient city, and in 1920, the population was 660,000. A significant
portion lived outside the walls in the north and across the Tiber in the Vatican area.

Bombardment of Rome by Allied planes, 1943

Soon after World War I in late 1922 Rome witnessed the rise of Italian Fascism led by Benito
Mussolini, who led a march on the city. He did away with democracy by 1926, eventually
declaring a new Italian Empire and allying Italy with Nazi Germany in 1938. Mussolini demolished
fairly large parts of the city centre in order to build wide avenues and squares which were
supposed to celebrate the fascist regime and the resurgence and glorification of classical
Rome.[69] The interwar period saw a rapid growth in the city's population which surpassed one
million inhabitants soon after 1930. During World War II, due to the art treasuries and the
presence of the Vatican, Rome largely escaped the tragic destiny of other European cities.
However, on 19 July 1943, the San Lorenzo district was subject to Allied bombing raids, resulting
in about 3,000 fatalities and 11,000 injuries, of whom another 1,500 died.[70] Mussolini was
arrested on 25 July 1943. On the date of the Italian Armistice 8 September 1943 the city was
occupied by the Germans. The Pope declared Rome an open city. It was liberated on 4 June
1944.
Rome developed greatly after the war as part of the "Italian economic miracle" of post-war
reconstruction and modernisation in the 1950s and early 1960s. During this period, the years of la
dolce vita ("the sweet life"), Rome became a fashionable city, with popular classic films such
as Ben Hur, Quo Vadis, Roman Holiday and La Dolce Vita filmed in the city's iconic Cinecittà
Studios. The rising trend in population growth continued until the mid-1980s when
the comune had more than 2.8 million residents. After this, the population declined slowly as
people began to move to nearby suburbs.

Geography
Location

Satellite image of Rome

Rome is in the Lazio region of central Italy on the Tiber (Italian: Tevere) river. The original
settlement developed on hills that faced onto a ford beside the Tiber Island, the only natural ford
of the river in this area. The Rome of the Kings was built on seven hills: the Aventine Hill,
the Caelian Hill, the Capitoline Hill, the Esquiline Hill, the Palatine Hill, the Quirinal Hill, and
the Viminal Hill. Modern Rome is also crossed by another river, the Aniene, which flows into the
Tiber north of the historic centre.

Although the city centre is about 24 km (15 mi) inland from the Tyrrhenian Sea, the city territory
extends to the shore, where the south-western district of Ostia is located. The altitude of the
central part of Rome ranges from 13 m (43 ft) above sea level (at the base of the Pantheon) to
139 m (456 ft) above sea level (the peak of Monte Mario).[71] The Comune of Rome covers an
overall area of about 1,285 km2 (496 sq mi), including many green areas.

Parks and gardens

Main article: List of parks and gardens in Rome

The Temple of Aesculapius, in the Villa Borghese gardens

Public parks and nature reserves cover a large area in Rome, and the city has one of the largest
areas of green space among European capitals.[72] The most notable part of this green space is
represented by the large number of villas and landscaped gardens created by the Italian
aristocracy. While most of the parks surrounding the villas were destroyed during the building
boom of the late 19th century, some of them remain. The most notable of these are the Villa
Borghese, Villa Ada, and Villa Doria Pamphili. Villa Doria Pamphili is west of the Gianicolo hill,
comprising some 1.8 km2 (0.7 sq mi). The Villa Sciarra is on the hill, with playgrounds for children
and shaded walking areas. In the nearby area of Trastevere, the Orto Botanico (Botanical
Garden) is a cool and shady green space. The old Roman hippodrome (Circus Maximus) is
another large green space: it has few trees but is overlooked by the Palatine and the Rose
Garden ('roseto comunale'). Nearby is the lush Villa Celimontana, close to the gardens
surrounding the Baths of Caracalla. The Villa Borghese garden is the best known large green
space in Rome, with famous art galleries among its shaded walks. Overlooking Piazza del
Popolo and the Spanish Steps are the gardens of Pincio and Villa Medici. There is also a notable
pine wood at Castelfusano, near Ostia. Rome also has a number of regional parks of much more
recent origin, including the Pineto Regional Park and the Appian Way Regional Park. There are
also nature reserves at Marcigliana and at Tenuta di Castelporziano.

Climate
Main article: Climate of Rome

Stone pines in the Villa Doria Pamphili

Rome has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa),[73] with hot, dry summers
and mild, humid winters.

Its average annual temperature is above 21 °C (70 °F) during the day and 9 °C (48 °F) at night. In
the coldest month, January, the average temperature is 12.6 °C (54.7 °F) during the day and
2.1 °C (35.8 °F) at night. In the warmest month, August, the average temperature is 31.7 °C
(89.1 °F) during the day and 17.3 °C (63.1 °F) at night.

December, January and February are the coldest months, with a daily mean temperature of
approximately 8 °C (46 °F). Temperatures during these months generally vary between 10 and
15 °C (50 and 59 °F) during the day and between 3 and 5 °C (37 and 41 °F) at night, with colder
or warmer spells occurring frequently. Snowfall is rare but not unheard of, with light snow or
flurries occurring on some winters, generally without accumulation, and major snowfalls on a very
rare occurrence (the most recent ones were in 2018, 2012 and 1986).[74][75][76]

The average relative humidity is 75%, varying from 72% in July to 77% in November. Sea
temperatures vary from a low of 13.9 °C (57.0 °F) in February to a high of 25.0 °C (77.0 °F) in
August.[77]

The highest temperature ever recorded in Rome was 42.9 °C (109.2 °F) on 18 July 2023.[78]

hideClimate data for Rome Ciampino Airport, elevation: 129 m or 423 ft, 1991-2020 normals,
extremes 1944–present

Ma Ma No
Month Jan Feb Apr Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Dec Year
r y v
 20. 23. 26. 30. 34. 32. 26. 21.
39.3 39.7 40.6 40.0 40.6
Record high °C 8 0 6 0 2 0 1 2
(102 (103 (105 (104 (105.
(°F) (69. (73. (79. (86. (93. (89. (79. (70.
.7) .5) .1) .0) 1)
4) 4) 9) 0) 6) 6) 0) 2)

12. 13. 15. 18. 22. 22. 16. 12.

28.1 31.0 31.6 26.7 21.0
Mean daily 0 0 8 8 3 2 9 7
(82. (87. (88. (80. (69.8
maximum °C (°F) (53. (55. (60. (65. (72. (72. (62. (54.
6) 8) 9) 1) )
6) 4) 4) 8) 1) 0) 4) 9)

10. 13. 18. 17. 12.

7.5 8.0 22.5 25.1 25.4 21.0 8.5 15.8
Daily mean °C 7 6 0 0 4
(45. (46. (72. (77. (77. (69. (47. (60.4
(°F) (51. (56. (64. (62. (54.
5) 4) 5) 2) 7) 8) 3) )
3) 5) 4) 6) 3)

12. 12.
3.4 3.4 5.9 8.6 16.7 19.3 19.8 16.0 8.5 4.7 10.9
Mean daily 6 4
(38. (38. (42. (47. (62. (66. (67. (60. (47. (40. (51.6
minimum °C (°F) (54. (54.
1) 1) 6) 5) 1) 7) 6) 8) 3) 5) )
7) 3)

−11 −6. −6. −2. −5. −6. −11.

1.8 5.6 9.1 9.3 4.3 0.8
Record low °C .0 9 5 4 2 6 0
(35. (42. (48. (48. (39. (33.
(°F) (12. (19. (20. (27. (22. (20. (12.2
2) 1) 4) 7) 7) 4)
2) 6) 3) 7) 6) 1) )

65. 62. 58. 68. 56. 88. 108 98. 752.

30.1 19.8 30.2 64.9
Average precipita 6 8 6 6 9 1 .2 3 0
(1.1 (0.7 (1.1 (2.5
tion mm (inches) (2.5 (2.4 (2.3 (2.7 (2.2 (3.4 (4.2 (3.8 (29.6
9) 8) 9) 6)
8) 7) 1) 0) 4) 7) 6) 7) 1)

Average
7.4 7.4 6.8 7.4 5.5 7.3 8.8 9.4 74.0
precipitation 3.38 2.16 2.20 6.00
0 8 5 2 4 2 4 4 3
days (≥ 1.0 mm)

Average relative 75. 71. 70. 70. 69. 74. 77. 77.
65.4 63.3 64.1 69.1 70.7
humidity (%) 8 5 6 4 0 0 9 2
 12. 12.
3.9 3.5 5.8 8.5 15.1 16.9 17.7 15.5 9.3 5.2 10.5
Average dew 1 9
(39. (38. (42. (47. (59. (62. (63. (59. (48. (41. (50.9
point °C (°F) (53. (55.
0) 3) 4) 3) 2) 4) 9) 9) 7) 4) )
8) 2)

Mean
155 171 203 221 276 298. 337. 320. 237. 200 153 146 2,72
monthly sunshin
.9 .9 .1 .1 .5 8 6 2 9 .6 .3 .9 3.9
e hours

Source 1: NOAA[79]

Source 2: Temperature estreme in Toscana[80]

Demographics
'People of Rome' redirects here. For the ancient Roman political concept, see SPQR. For the
2003 film, see People of Rome (film).
See also: Demographics of Italy

Rome (comune) age-sex pyramid in 2022

Historical population

Year Pop. ±%

1861 194,500 —

1871 212,432 +9.2%

1881 273,952 +29.0%

1901 422,411 +54.2%

 1911 518,917 +22.8%

1921 660,235 +27.2%

1931 930,926 +41.0%

1936 1,150,589 +23.6%

1951 1,651,754 +43.6%

1961 2,188,160 +32.5%

1971 2,781,993 +27.1%

1981 2,840,259 +2.1%

1991 2,775,250 −2.3%

2001 2,663,182 −4.0%

2011 2,617,175 −1.7%

2021 2,770,226 +5.8%

Source: ISTAT, 2022

By 550 BC, Rome was the second largest city in Italy after only Taras (modern Taranto) on
the Salento Peninsula.[citation needed] It had an area of about 285 ha (700 acres) and an estimated
population of 35,000. Other sources suggest the population was just under 100,000 from 600 to
500 BC.[81][82] When the Republic was founded in 509 BC the census recorded a population of
130,000.[83] The republic included the city itself and the immediate surroundings. Other sources
suggest a population of 150,000 in 500 BC. It surpassed 300,000 by 150 BC.[84][85][86][87][88]

The size of the city at the time of the Emperor Augustus is a matter of speculation, with estimates
based on grain distribution, grain imports, aqueduct capacity, city limits, population density,
census reports, and assumptions about the number of unreported women, children and slaves
providing a very wide range. Glenn Storey estimates 450,000 people, Whitney Oates estimates
1.2 million, Neville Morely provides a rough estimate of 800,000 and excludes earlier suggestions
of 2 million.[89][90][91][92] Estimates of the city's population towards and after the end of the Roman
empire also vary. A.H.M. Jones estimated the population at 650,000 in the mid-fifth century. The
damage caused by the sackings may have been overestimated. The population had already
started to decline from the late fourth century onward, although around the middle of the fifth
century it seems that Rome continued to be the most populous city of the two parts of the
Empire.[93] According to Krautheimer it was still close to 800,000 in 400 AD; had declined to
500,000 by 452, and dwindled to perhaps 100,000 in 500 AD. After the Gothic Wars, 535–552,
the population may have dwindled temporarily to 30,000. During the pontificate of Pope Gregory
I (590–604), it may have reached 90,000, augmented by refugees.[94] Lancon estimates 500,000
based on the number of 'incisi' enrolled as eligible to receive bread, oil and wine rations; the
number fell to 120,000 in the reform of 419.[95] Neil Christie, citing free rations for the poorest,
estimated 500,000 in the mid-fifth century and still a quarter of a million at the end of the
century.[96] Novel 36 of Emperor Valentinian III records 3.629 million pounds of pork to be
distributed to the needy at 5 lbs. per month for the five winter months, sufficient for 145,000
recipients. This has been used to suggest a population of just under 500,000. Supplies of grain
remained steady until the seizure of the remaining provinces of North Africa in 439 by
the Vandals, and may have continued to some degree afterwards for a while. The city's
population declined to less than 50,000 people in the Early Middle Ages from 700 AD onward. It
continued to stagnate or shrink until the Renaissance.[97]

When the Kingdom of Italy annexed Rome in 1870, the city had a population of about 225,000.
Less than half the city within the walls was built up in 1881 when the population recorded was
275,000. This increased to 600,000 by the eve of World War I. The Fascist regime of Mussolini
tried to block an excessive demographic rise of the city but failed to prevent it from reaching one
million people by the early 1930s.[citation needed][clarification needed] Population growth continued after the
Second World War, helped by a post-war economic boom. A construction boom also created
many suburbs during the 1950s and 1960s.

In mid-2010, there were 2,754,440 residents in the city proper, while some 4.2 million people
lived in the greater Rome area (which can be approximately identified with its administrative
metropolitan city, with a population density of about 800 inhabitants/km2 stretching over more
than 5,000 km2 (1,900 sq mi)). Minors (children ages 18 and younger) totalled 17.00% of the
population compared to pensioners who number 20.76%. This compares with the Italian average
of 18.06% (minors) and 19.94% (pensioners). The average age of a Roman resident is 43
compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of
Rome grew by 6.54%, while Italy as a whole grew by 3.56%.[98] The current[when?] birth rate of Rome
is 9.10 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9.45 births.[citation needed]

The urban area of Rome extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of around
3.9 million.[99] Between 3.2 and 4.2 million people live in the Rome metropolitan area.[100][101][102][103][104]

Origin groups

The Esquilino rione

According to the latest statistics conducted by ISTAT,[105] approximately 9.5% of the population
consists of non-Italians. About half of the immigrant population consists of those of various other
European origins (chiefly Romanian, Polish, Ukrainian, and Albanian) numbering a combined
total of 131,118 or 4.7% of the population. The remaining 4.8% are those with non-European
origins, chiefly Filipinos (26,933), Bangladeshis (12,154), and Chinese (10,283).

The Esquilino rione, off Termini Railway Station, has evolved into a largely immigrant
neighbourhood. It is perceived as Rome's Chinatown. Immigrants from more than a hundred
different countries reside there. A commercial district, Esquilino contains restaurants featuring
many kinds of international cuisine. There are wholesale clothes shops. Of the 1,300 or so
commercial premises operating in the district 800 are Chinese-owned; around 300 are run by
immigrants from other countries around the world; 200 are owned by Italians.[106]