Tours in Rome

Rome (Italian: Roma) is the capital city of Italy and of the Lazio (Latin: Latium) region, as well as the country's largest and most populous comune, with about 2.8 million residents (3.8 million considering the whole urbanised area, as represented by the Province of Rome). It is located in the central-western portion of the Italian peninsula, where the river Aniene joins the Tiber. As one of the largest cities in the European Union, the Comune di Roma has a gross domestic product of ˆ97 billion in the year 2005, equal to 6.7% of Italy's GDP — the highest proportion of GDP produced by any single Italian comune. The current Mayor of Rome is Walter Veltroni. According to legend, the city of Rome was founded by the twins Romulus and Remus on April 21, 753 BC. Archaeological evidence supports claims that Rome was inhabited since the 8th century BC and earlier. The city was the cradle of Roman civilization that produced the largest and longest-lasting empire of classical antiquity.[citation needed] The city was pivotal and responsible for the spread of Greco-Roman culture that endures to this day. Rome is also identified with the Catholic Church and the holders of its episcopal seat are the popes. An enclave of Rome is the State of the Vatican City, the sovereign territory of the Holy See and smallest nation in the world. Rome, Caput mundi ("capital of the world"), la Città Eterna ("the Eternal City"), Limen Apostolorum ("threshold of the Apostles"), la città dei sette colli ("the city of the seven hills") or simply l'Urbe ("the City"), is thoroughly modern and cosmopolitan. As one of the few major European cities that escaped World War II relatively unscathed, central Rome remains essentially Renaissance and Baroque in character. The Historic Centre of Rome is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
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, when Aurelian began building the Aurelian Walls. These were almost twelve miles long, and was still the wall the troops of the Kingdom of Italy had to breach to enter the city in 1870.
The city of Rome surrounds the Vatican City, the enclave of the Holy See, which is a separate sovereign state. It hosts Saint Peter's Square with the Saint Peter's Basilica. The open space before the basilica was redesigned by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, from 1656 to 1667, under the direction of Pope Alexander VII, as an appropriate forecourt, designed "so that the greatest number of people could see the Pope give his blessing, either from the middle of the façade of the church or from a window in the Vatican Palace" (Norwich 1975 p 175). In Vatican City there are also the prestigious Vatican Library, Vatican Museums with the Sistine Chapel, the Raphael Rooms and other important works of Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael, Giotto, Botticelli.
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, the Trajan's Column, the 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.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, the Trajan's Column, the 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, and that left a profound mark on the city. The most impressive masterpiece of Renaissance architecture in Rome (as some would say,) is the Piazza del Campidoglio by Michelangelo, 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, the Villa Farnesina. Rome is also famous for her huge and majestic squares, often adorned with obelisks, many of those built in the XVII century. The principal squares are Piazza del Popolo, Piazza Navona, Piazza di Spagna, Campo de' Fiori, Piazza Esedra, Piazza Venezia, Piazza Farnese, Piazza Minerva. One of the most emblematic examples of the baroque art is the Fontana di Trevi by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. 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.
Neoclassicism In 1870, Rome became capital city of the new Kingdom of Italy. And neoclassicism, a building style influenced by architecture during Antiquity, became a predominant style in Roman buildings. In this period many great palaces in neoclassical styles were built to host ministries, embassies and other governing agencies. One of the best-known symbol of Roman neoclassicism is the Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II or "Altar of Fatherland", where the grave of the Unknown Soldier, that represents the 650,000 Italians that fell in World War I, is located.
Fascist architecture The Fascist regime that ruled in Italy between 1922 and 1943 developed an original architectural style, characterized by feast and the research of a link with ancient Rome architecture. The most important fascist style site in Rome is the E.U.R. district, built in 1935. It was originally conceived for the 1942 world exhibition, and was called "E.42" ("Esposizione 42"). However, the world exhibition never took place due to Italy entering the Second World War in 1940. The most representative building of the Fascist style at E.U.R. is the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana (1938-1943), the iconic design of which has been labeled the cubic or Square Colosseum. After World War II, the Roman authorities found that they already had a gem of an off-centre business district that other capitals were still planning (London Docklands and La Defense in Paris). Also the Palazzo della Farnesina, the actual seat of Italian Foreign Ministry, was designed in 1935 in fascist style.
Villas and gardens The surroundings of Rome are characterized by numerous and large green areas and opulent ancient villas. The most important are: Villa Borghese, with a large landscape garden in the naturalistic English manner, containing a number of buildings, museums (see Galleria Borghese) and attractions; Villa Doria Pamphili, the largest public landscaped park of Rome with an area of 1.8 km²; Villa Torlonia, a splendid example of Art Nouveau mansion that was the Roman residence of Benito Mussolini; Villa Albani, commissioned by Alessandro Cardinal Albani to house his collection of antiquities and Roman sculpture, which soon filled the casino that faced the Villa down a series of formal parterres.
Museums and galleries The list of most important museums and galleries of Rome includes: the National Museum of Rome, the Museum of Roman Civilization, the Villa Giulia National Etruscan Museum, the Capitoline Museums, the Borghese Gallery, the Museum of Castel Sant'Angelo, the National Gallery of Modern Art.