Rome
Rome
Roma (Italian) | |||||||||||||||
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Capital city and comune | |||||||||||||||
| Roma Capitale | |||||||||||||||
 Clockwise from top: the Colosseum, St. Peter's Basilica, Castel Sant'Angelo, Ponte Sant'Angelo, Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon | |||||||||||||||
 Flag  Coat of arms | |||||||||||||||
| Etymology: Possibly Etruscan: Rumon, lit. 'river' | |||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s): Urbs Aeterna (Latin) The Eternal City Caput Mundi (Latin) | |||||||||||||||
 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. | |||||||||||||||
  Rome Location within Italy | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates: 41°53′N 12°30′E / 41.883°N 12.500°ECoordinates: 41°53′N 12°30′E / 41.883°N 12.500°E | |||||||||||||||
| Country |  Italy[a] | ||||||||||||||
| Region |  Lazio | ||||||||||||||
| Metropolitan city | Rome | ||||||||||||||
| Founded | 753 BC | ||||||||||||||
| Founded by | King Romulus | ||||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||||
| • Type | Strong Mayor–Council | ||||||||||||||
| • Mayor | Virginia Raggi (M5S) | ||||||||||||||
| • Legislature | Capitoline Assembly | ||||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||||
| • Total | 1,285 km2 (496.3 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation | 21 m (69 ft) | ||||||||||||||
| Population (31 December 2019) | |||||||||||||||
| • Rank | 1st in Italy (3rd in the EU) | ||||||||||||||
| • Density | 2,236/km2 (5,790/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| • Comune | 2,860,009[1] | ||||||||||||||
| • Metropolitan City | 4,342,212[2] | ||||||||||||||
| Demonym(s) | Italian: romano(i) (masculine), romana(e) (feminine) English: Roman(s) | ||||||||||||||
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) | ||||||||||||||
| CAP code(s) | 00100; 00118 to 00199 | ||||||||||||||
| Area code(s) | 06 | ||||||||||||||
| Website | comune.roma.it | ||||||||||||||
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Rome (Italian and Latin: Roma [ˈroːma] (
listen)) is the capital city and a special comune of Italy (named Comune di Roma Capitale), as well as the capital of the Lazio region. The city has been a major human settlement for almost three millennia. With 2,860,009 residents in 1,285 km2 (496.1 sq mi),[1] it is also the country's most populated comune. It is the third most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the centre of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4,355,725 residents, thus making it the most populous metropolitan city in Italy.[2] Its metropolitan area is the third-most populous within Italy.[3] 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)[4] is an independent country inside the city boundaries of Rome, the only existing example of a country within a city; for this reason, Rome has sometimes been described as the capital of two states.[5][6]
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 one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in Europe.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9][10] 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.[11] In this way, Rome became first one of the major centres of the Renaissance,[12] and then 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 11th most visited city in the world with 10.1 million tourists, the third most visited in the European Union, and the most popular tourist destination in Italy.[13] Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.[14] 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[15] (UfM) as well as the headquarters of many international business companies such as Eni, Enel, TIM, Leonardo S.p.A., and national and international banks such as Unicredit and BNL. Rome's EUR business district is the home of many companies involved in the oil industry, the pharmaceutical industry, and financial services. 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.[16]
Etymology
According to the founding myth of the city by the Ancient Romans themselves,[17] the long-held tradition of the origin of the name Roma is believed to have come from the city's founder and first king, Romulus.[18]
However, it is a possibility that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself.[19] 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:[20]