Rome

Rome serves as Italy’s capital and its most populous municipality, while also functioning as the administrative hub for the Lazio region and the Metropolitan City of Rome. With 2.7 million residents spread across 1,287.36 square kilometers, it ranks as the third most populous city within the European Union when counting only those inside the official city limits. The broader Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, home to 4.2 million people, holds the title of Italy’s most populous metropolitan city, though its metropolitan area comes in third nationally.

Situated in the central-western part of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio (ancient Latium), Rome lies along the Tiber Valley. Inside its municipal borders sits Vatican City—the world’s smallest independent nation and the headquarters of the global Catholic Church under the Holy See—making it the sole example of a country contained entirely within a city. Because of its hilly terrain, Rome is commonly called the “City of Seven Hills,” and it is also known as the “Eternal City.”

It is widely regarded as one of the birthplaces of Western civilization and Western Christian culture, as well as the heart of the Catholic Church.

Rome’s history stretches back 28 centuries. Although Roman mythology places the city’s founding around 753 BC, people inhabited the site long before that, giving it over three millennia of continuous human settlement and making it one of Europe’s oldest constantly occupied cities. Its early population came from a blend of Latins, Etruscans, and Sabines. Over time, Rome became the capital of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire, and many consider it the first imperial city and metropolis. The poet Tibullus first called it the “Eternal City” in the 1st century BC, a phrase later echoed by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy. It is also referred to as Caput Mundi (Capital of the World).

After the Western Empire fell, ushering in the Middle Ages, Rome gradually came under papal political control. By the 8th century, it had become the capital of the Papal States, a status that lasted until 1870. Starting with the Renaissance, nearly every pope from Nicholas V (1447–1455) onward followed a consistent architectural and urban plan over four centuries, aiming to turn the city into the world’s artistic and cultural center. As a result, Rome first emerged as a major Renaissance hub and later gave rise to both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism. Famous painters, sculptors, and architects made Rome their base, filling the city with masterpieces. In 1871, Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, which transformed into the Italian Republic in 1946. It hosted the 1960 Summer Olympics.

In 2019, Rome ranked as the 14th most visited city globally, drawing 8.6 million tourists—the third highest in the European Union and the top tourist destination in Italy. Its historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city also houses several United Nations specialized agencies, including the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Food Programme, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. Additionally, Rome hosts the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean and the headquarters of major Italian multinationals like Eni, Enel, TIM, and Leonardo, as well as banks such as BNL.

The EUR business district is home to numerous companies, including the luxury fashion house Fendi, based in the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana. The presence of prestigious international brands has made Rome a key center for fashion and design, and Cinecittà Studios have served as the setting for many Academy Award–winning films.

Name and symbol Etymology According to ancient Roman founding myth, the name Roma comes from Romulus, the city’s founder and first king. However, it’s possible that Romulus’s name actually derived from Rome itself. By the 4th century, alternative theories about the origin of the name Roma had already emerged. Several hypotheses focus on uncertain linguistic roots: From Rumon or Rumen, an archaic name for the Tiber River, possibly linked to the Greek verb rheo (“to flow, stream”) and the Latin verb ruo (“to hurry, rush”). From the Etruscan word ruma, whose root rum- means “teat,” possibly referencing either the wolf that suckled Romulus and Remus or the shape of the Palatine and Aventine Hills. From the Greek word rhome (“strength”).

Other names and symbols In ancient times, Rome was simply called “Urbs” (central city), from urbs roma, or identified by its republican acronym SPQR. In 192 AD, Emperor Commodus renamed it Colonia Lucia Annia Commodiana after himself, but the name reverted to Rome after his assassination later that year. Rome has also been called Urbs Aeterna (The Eternal City), Caput Mundi (The Capital of the World), Throne of St. Peter, and Roma Capitale.

Dionysius of Halicarnassus reports that a lagobolon (a throwing stick) was a symbol of Rome’s founding. He recounts that after a sacred hut of Mars on the Palatine Hill burned down, a lagobolon—which Romulus used to mark the regions for taking auspices when founding the city—was found miraculously unharmed among the ashes.

History Earliest history Archaeological evidence shows human occupation in the Rome area dating back roughly 14,000 years, though a thick layer of younger debris obscures Palaeolithic remains.