Rome, the Eternal City, Rome Caput Mundi. A unique city worldwide because of the completely opposite styles of art and life that manage to live side by side there: Imperial Rome and Baroque Rome, sophisticated Rome and working-class Rome. Rome (Italian: Roma) is the capital city of Italy and of the Lazio region, It is located in the central-western portion of the Italian peninsula, where the river Aniene joins the Tiber.
An enclave of Rome is the State of the Vatican City, the sovereign territory of the Holy See. It is the smallest nation in the world, According to legend, the city of Rome was founded by the twins Romulus and Remus on April 21, 753 BC, but archaeological evidence supports the theory that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill but in the area of the future Roman Forum, coalescing into a city in the 8th century BC. The city developed into the capital of the Roman Kingdom then Roman Republic (but finally the Roman Empire this success depended on military conquest, commercial predominance, as well as selective assimilation of neighboring civilizations, most notably the Etruscans and Greeks
One of the symbols of Rome is the Colosseum (70-80), the largest amphitheatre ever built in the Roman Empire. Originally capable of seating 50,000 spectators, it was used for gladiatorial combat. The list of the very important monuments of ancient Rome includes the Roman Forum, the Domus Aurea, the Pantheon, Trajan's Column, Trajan's Market, the Catacombs of Rome, the Circus Maximus, the Baths of Caracalla, the Arch of Constantine, the Pyramid of Cestius, the Bocca della Verità.
Rome was a major world center of the Renaissance, second only to Florence, and was profoundly affected by the movement. The most impressive masterpiece of Renaissance architecture in Rome is the Piazza del Campidoglio by Michelangelo, along with the Palazzo Senatorio, seat of the city government. During this period, the great aristocratic families of Rome used to build opulent dwellings as the Palazzo del Quirinale (now seat of the President of the Republic), the Palazzo Venezia, the Palazzo Farnese, the Palazzo Barberini, the Palazzo Chigi (now seat of the Prime Minister), the Palazzo Spada, the Palazzo della Cancelleria, and the Villa Farnesina. Rome is also famous for her huge and majestic squares, often adorned with obelisks, many of which were built in the XVII century. The principal squares are Piazza Navona, Piazza di Spagna, Campo de' Fiori, Piazza Venezia, Piazza Farnese, and Piazza della Minerva. One of the most emblematic examples of the baroque art is the Fontana di Trevi by Nicola Salvi. Other notable baroque palaces of XVII century are the Palazzo Madama, now seat of the Italian Senate and the Palazzo Montecitorio, now seat of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy.
The historical centre ville is dominated by the traditional "Seven hills of Rome": the Capitoline, Palatine, Viminal, Quirinal, Esquiline, Caelian, and Aventine hills. The Tiber flows south through Rome, with the city centre located where the midstream Tiber Island facilitated crossing. Large parts of the ancient city walls remain. The Servian Wall was built twelve years after Gauls' sack of the city in 390 BC; it contained most of the Esquiline and Caelian hills, as well as the whole of the other five. Rome grew out of the Servian Wall, but no more walls were constructed until 270 AD, when Aurelian began building the Aurelian Walls. These were almost twelve miles (19 km) long, and was still the wall the troops of the Kingdom of Italy had to breach to enter the city in 1870.
The most spectacular churches in the Eternal City are
· St. Peter’s Basilica – A huge sanctuary of Christian religion. Its façade is 45 meters high, and its enormous dome is 136 meters. St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest church in the world, overlooks the square that carries the same name that was designed by Bernini and which is surrounded by a colonnade. Grandeur and majesty: this is the sensation that one gets walking up Via della Conciliazione towards Piazza San Pietro. One of the most important works of art inside is the “Pietà” sculpture by Michelangelo, that was created between 1498 and 1500.
· The Sistine Chapel – This chapel owes its name to Sixtus IV, the Pope who commissioned the building of the chapel at the end of the 14th century. The Chapel was decorated by famous 15th century painters such as Botticelli and il Ghirlandaio. Later, in the 16th century, Michelangelo was called upon to paint all the frescoes on the chapel’s vaulted ceiling: about 1000 square meters. He painted frescoes representing stories from the Bible such as the amazing Universal Judgment, which caused a scandal because of the nudity of about four hundred people in it, and the Creation of Mankind.
· San Giovanni in Laterano – This is the Cathedral of Rome, the most important church after St. Peter’s. The first church was built in 314, when the Emperor Constantine gave the land to the Pope. The current building complex is made up of the Church, the Baptistery, Palazzo Lateranense, the Scala Santa and the Hospital of San Giovanni.
· San Paolo fuori le mura – This church is in Via Ostiense and was founded in 330. It was only finished, however, in the 5th century. The Church was built on the wishes of Constantine, who wished to commemorate the Deacon Lorenzo, who became a martyr together with Pope Sixtus II in the middle of the 3rd century, with a magnificent tomb.
· Santa Maria Maggiore – This church stands on the Esquilino hill and is the first Roman church to be named after the Holy Virgin. Its bell tower is the highest in Rome. There is a story that this was the site where fragments of wood from Jesus’ crib were kept. For this reason, the church was called Santa Maria ad Praesepe for a certain period of time. The museums and galleries that can’t be missed:
· The Vatican Museums – This group of museums is divided into several sections such as the Egyptian Museum, the Ethnological Museum, the Painting Gallery and the Raffaello Rooms to name a few. As well as the ancient artifacts, the Vatican Museums contain hundreds of works of art commissioned and collected by the Popes over the centuries and created by the most famous artists in history. The statue of Laocoonte in the courtyard of Palazzo del Belvedere is not to be missed.
· The Capitoline Museums – This museum, founded in 1471, houses findings and works of art that tell the full history of Rome, from the antique sculptures and bas-reliefs portraying the acts of the emperors to the paintings on show in the Picture Gallery.
· Galleria Borghese – This is one of the largest collections in the world. The collection was begun in 1600 by the Borghese family; it was plundered by Napoleon at the beginning of the 19th century and then partly recompiled once more and was acquired by the State at the beginning of the 20th century. There are many works of art by painters and sculptors to see: Amor sacro e Amor Profano by Tiziano, la Pietà by Rubens, Davide con la testa di Golia by Caravaggio, Apollo e Dafne, David and Pluto e Prosperina by Bernini
