Rome

Table of Contents

Introduction
Character of the city
Landscape
- City site
- Climate
- City layout
  - Via del Corso and environs
    - Vittoriano
    - Churches and palaces
    - Piazza del Popolo
    - Piazza di Spagna
    - Via Vittorio Veneto
  - The Seven Hills
    - The Palatine
    - The Capitoline
    - The Aventine
    - The Caelian
    - The Esquiline
    - The Viminal and Quirinal
    - Other hills
  - The Forum
  - The Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine
  - The river lands
    - Castel Sant’Angelo
    - Trastevere
    - The lower east bank
    - Campus Martius
    - Renaissance palaces
  - The churches
    - The great basilicas
      St. Peter’s
      San Giovanni in Laterano
      San Paolo Fuori le Mura
      Santa Maria Maggiore
    - Other important churches
      San Lorenzo Fuori le Mura
      Santa Croce in Gerusalemme
      San Pietro in Vincoli
      Gesù
      Santa Maria della Vittoria
      Sant’Agostino
  - The fountains
People
Economy
- Manufacturing and services
- Transportation
Administration and society
- Government
- Housing and education
History
- Rome of antiquity
  - Founding and the kingdom
  - The early Roman Republic
  - City of world power
  - The late republic
  - Municipal reforms of Augustus
  - Contributions of later emperors
  - Slow decline of the late empire
- City of the popes
  - Decay of imperial authority
  - Factional struggles: papacy and nobility
  - Emergence of the Roman commune
  - Period of the Avignon papacy
  - The city in the Renaissance
- Evolution of the modern city
  - Rebuilding and repopulation
  - Decline and fall of the papal empire
  - Capital of a united Italy

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

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For Students

Roman Forum

Rome: Facts & Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Jul 05, 2025

News •

Pope Leo XIV resumes the tradition of taking a summer vacation. But he's got plenty of homework • July 5, 2025, 1:22 PM ET (AP)

Rome gas station blast that left at least 40 injured could have been worse, says mayor • July 4, 2025, 12:45 PM ET (AP)

Severe heat wave hits southern Europe and raises wildfire risks • June 30, 2025, 1:18 AM ET (AP)

Pope Leo XIV offers an uplifting message urging seminarians to be joyful and honest • June 24, 2025, 6:50 AM ET (AP)

Nero's ancient Rome and Jazz Age New York meet in `The Comet/Poppea' at Lincoln Center • June 19, 2025, 1:24 PM ET (AP)

Did You Know?

In 133 BCE, Rome became the first city in the world to reach a population of one million people.
Rome has not always been the capital of Italy; prior to the unification of Italy in 1870, the capital city was Florence.
Togas are seen as a popular garment worn by the ancient Romans, but their use was restricted to male citizens who had not been born into slavery.
Rome is the only city in the world that surrounds an entire country: Vatican City is an independent nation-state under papal authority that is located within the city of Rome.

Photos and Videos

Rome: Colosseum

Mussolini, Benito

Rome; Vatican City

Caravaggio: The Conversion of St. Paul (second version)

Rome: Barcaccia

Exploring the ancient Roman Appian Way

How an underground labyrinth threatens Rome's monuments

Learn about the magnificent infrastructural work of imperial Rome, especially Roman masonry

The dramatic birth of the Roman Empire

Know about the history of the ancient buildings of the Roman Forum, Rome

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Venice Milan Florence Naples Genoa Latina Bologna Verona Trieste Palermo

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