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150-451: Borgo Nuovo , originally known as via Alessandrina , also named via Recta or via Pontificum , was a road in the city of Rome , Italy, important for historical and architectural reasons. Built by Pope Alexander VI Borgia ( r.  1492–1503 ) for the holy year of 1500, the road became one of the main centers of the high Renaissance in Rome. Borgo Nuovo was demolished together with

300-460: A civil war against the Senate and Pompey. After his victory, Caesar established himself as dictator for life . His assassination in 44 BC led to a second Triumvirate among Octavian (Caesar's grandnephew and heir), Mark Antony and Lepidus , and to a final civil war between Octavian and Antony. In 27 BC, Octavian was named Augustus and princeps , founding the principate ,

450-523: A diarchy between the princeps and the senate. Over time, the new monarch came to be known as the imperator (hence emperor ), meaning "commander". During the reign of Nero , two thirds of the city was ruined after the Great Fire of Rome , and the persecution of Christians commenced. Rome's empire reached its greatest expansion in the second century under the Emperor Trajan . Rome

600-776: A polyptych by Jacopo di Cione ; one tile of Filarete 's Bronze Doors in Old St. Peter's Basilica; the fresco of The Vision of the Cross in Raphael's Rooms in the Vatican ; and the frescoes on the vaults of the Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi by Cimabue . The cella of the pyramid was used for centuries as a granary by the Chapter of Saint Peter, which owned it from

750-467: A senatore or patrizio . In the 12th century, this administration, like other European cities, evolved into the commune , a new form of social organisation controlled by the new wealthy classes. Pope Lucius II fought against the Roman commune, and the struggle was continued by his successor Pope Eugenius III : by this stage, the commune, allied with the aristocracy, was supported by Arnaldo da Brescia ,

900-468: A series of civil wars between rival claimants to power resulted in the unification of the empire under Constantine the Great in 324. Hereditary succession was restored, but the east–west division was maintained. Constantine undertook a major reform of the bureaucracy, not by changing the structure but by rationalising the competencies of the several ministries. The so-called Edict of Milan of 313, actually

1050-554: A cemetery. At the entrance of Borgo Nuovo, on the northern side, and facing on the opposite side Vicolo del Villano , lay one of the two twin palaces built by Luigi Poletti. They have the same late neoclassical style as the Manifattura dei Tabacchi ("Tobaccos factory") in piazza Mastai in Trastevere , erected by Antonio Sarti a few years later. At the east end of the spina between Borgo Vecchio and Borgo Nuovo, in 1850

1200-538: A coherent architectural and urban programme over four hundred years, aimed at making the city the artistic and cultural centre of the world. In this way, Rome first became one of the major centres of the Renaissance and then became 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

1350-691: A comment to Horace by the Pseudo-Acron (a writer of the 5th century AD) who mentions that the ashes of Scipio Africanus were taken from a pyramid in the Vatican; due to that, the Meta Romuli was also named "Sepulcher of the Scipions". The name Meta Romuli instead was due to a popular belief, which linked it to the pyramid of Cestius (named Meta Remi in the Middle Ages and lying near

1500-575: A crusade against the Colonna family and, in 1300, called for the first Jubilee of Christianity , which brought millions of pilgrims to Rome. However, his hopes were crushed by the French king Philip the Fair , who took him prisoner and held him hostage for three days at Anagni . The Pope was able to return to Rome, but died a month later, it was said of shock and grief. Afterwards, a new pope faithful to

1650-419: A fragment of a letter from his co-emperor Licinius to the governors of the eastern provinces, granted freedom of worship to everyone, including Christians, and ordered the restoration of confiscated church properties upon petition to the newly created vicars of dioceses. He funded the building of several churches and allowed clergy to act as arbitrators in civil suits (a measure that did not outlast him but which

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1800-420: A fringe hypothesis. Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth . The most familiar of these myths, and perhaps the most famous of all Roman myths , is the story of Romulus and Remus , the twins who were suckled by a she-wolf . They decided to build a city, but after an argument, Romulus killed his brother and

1950-469: A large area in Rome, and the city has one of the largest areas of green space among European capitals. The most notable part of this green space is represented by the large number of villas and landscaped gardens created by the Italian aristocracy. While most of the parks surrounding the villas were destroyed during the building boom of the late 19th century, some of them remain. The most notable of these are

2100-598: 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 . 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

2250-626: A monk who was a religious and social reformer. After the pope's death, Arnaldo was taken prisoner by Adrianus IV , which marked the end of the commune's autonomy. Under Pope Innocent III , whose reign marked the apogee of the papacy, the commune liquidated the senate, and replaced it with a Senatore , who was subject to the pope. In this period, the papacy played a role of secular importance in Western Europe , often acting as arbitrators between Christian monarchs and exercising additional political powers. In 1266, Charles of Anjou , who

2400-463: A new building, palazzo Sauve, was erected; this replaced a house which had been pulled down during the Roman Republic . On the east façade of the building a large fountain, the "Fontana dei Delfini" ("Dolphins' Fountain") was erected by pope Pius IX in 1861, marking the beginning of the "Spina". The palace was demolished in 1936 and the fountain was moved in the Vatican City in 1958. Coming from

2550-440: A square plan with sides 25 metres (82 ft) long and was between 32 and 50 meters high. The Mirabilia Urbis Romae (a 12th-century guide of the city) says that the monument fuit miro lapide tabulata ("was sided with wonderful stone") and that pope Donus (r. 676–8) dismantled its siding to pave the quadriporticus and the stairs of Saint Peter's church. The construction was very robust: Michele Ferno, an eyewitness of

2700-515: A very rare occurrence (the most recent ones were in 2018, 2012 and 1986). Meta Romuli The pyramid was located in today's Borgo district of Rome, between Old Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican and the Mausoleum of Hadrian . Its foundations have been discovered under the first north block of via della Conciliazione , which now includes the Auditorium della Conciliazione and

2850-554: A warrior pope, to Alexander VI , immoral and nepotist , from Julius II , soldier and patron, to Leo X , who gave his name to this period ("the century of Leo X"), all devoted their energy to the greatness and the beauty of the Eternal City and to the patronage of the arts. During those years, the centre of the Italian Renaissance moved to Rome from Florence. Majestic works, as the new Saint Peter's Basilica ,

3000-563: A winding lane run between houses, gardens and ancient walls; At about one third of its length (coming from the Tiber), the path was blocked by a large Roman funerary monument, the Meta Romuli , considered as the resting place of the mythical first king of the city . This was a pyramid similar to that of Cestius , still existing near Porta Ostiense and regarded by the Romans of that time as

3150-463: Is a wide consensus that the city developed gradually through the aggregation (" synoecism ") of several villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine. This aggregation was facilitated by the increase of agricultural productivity above the subsistence level , which also allowed the establishment of secondary and tertiary activities . These, in turn, boosted the development of trade with

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3300-405: Is above 21 °C (70 °F) during the day and 9 °C (48 °F) at night. In the coldest month, January, the average temperature is 12.6 °C (54.7 °F) during the day and 2.1 °C (35.8 °F) at night. In the warmest month, August, the average temperature is 31.7 °C (89.1 °F) during the day and 17.3 °C (63.1 °F) at night. December, January and February are

3450-585: Is also a notable pine wood at Castelfusano , near Ostia. Rome also has a number of regional parks of much more recent origin, including the Pineto Regional Park and the Appian Way Regional Park. There are also nature reserves at Marcigliana and at Tenuta di Castelporziano. Rome has a Mediterranean climate ( Köppen climate classification : Csa ), with hot, dry summers and mild, humid winters. Its average annual temperature

3600-1008: 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), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the UN System Network on Rural Development and Food Security . The city also hosts the European Union (EU) Delegation to the United Nations (UN) and the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly of

3750-622: Is another large green space: it has few trees but is overlooked by the Palatine and the Rose Garden ('roseto comunale'). Nearby is the lush Villa Celimontana , close to the gardens surrounding the Baths of Caracalla. The Villa Borghese garden is the best known large green space in Rome, with famous art galleries among its shaded walks. Overlooking Piazza del Popolo and the Spanish Steps are the gardens of Pincio and Villa Medici . There

3900-562: Is based on the amount of pork, 3,629,000 lbs. distributed to poorer Romans during five winter months at the rate of five Roman lbs per person per month, enough for 145,000 persons or 1/4 or 1/3 of the total population. Grain distribution to 80,000 ticket holders at the same time suggests 400,000 (Augustus set the number at 200,000 or one-fifth of the population). After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in AD ;476, Rome

4050-591: Is generally considered to be the cradle of Western civilization and Western Christian culture , and the centre of the Catholic Church . 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 a major human settlement for over three millennia and one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in Europe. The city's early population originated from

4200-559: Is generally thought the population of the city until AD 300 was 1 million (estimates range from 2 million to 750,000) declining to 750–800,000 in AD 400, then 450–500,000 in AD 450 and down to 80–100,000 in AD 500 (though it may have been twice this). The Bishop of Rome, called the Pope , was important since the early days of Christianity because of the martyrdom of both the apostles Peter and Paul there. The Bishops of Rome were also seen (and still are seen by Catholics) as

4350-667: Is the country's most populated comune and the third most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. The Metropolitan City of Rome, with a population of 4,355,725 residents, is the most populous metropolitan city in Italy. Its metropolitan area is the third-most populous within Italy. Rome is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula , within Lazio ( Latium ), along

4500-652: The Age of Enlightenment , new ideas reached the Eternal City, where the papacy supported archaeological studies and improved the people's welfare. But not everything went well for the Church during the Counter-Reformation. There were setbacks in the attempts to assert the Church's power, a notable example being in 1773 when Pope Clement XIV was forced by secular powers to have the Jesuit order suppressed . The rule of

4650-530: The Apostolic Palace on the Vatican hill . During the last two Jubilees , which had taken place in 1450 and 1475, the enormous inflow of pilgrims had caused several traffic problems in the Borgo; because of that, in order to solve the problem, during the papal consistory of 16 November 1498 the pope gave the task to rationalize the paths which led to St. Peter, asking Cardinal Girolamo Riario to take

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4800-455: The Basilica of Saint Paul ), identifying them with the tombs of Romulus and Remus , the two mythical founders of Rome, and making them the object of various legends, based upon the analogy between the founders of the city and the apostles Peter and Paul. It was traditionally believed that the site of the martyrdom of Saint Peter, described as ad Therebintum inter duas metas...in Vaticano ,

4950-475: The Borgia pope; because of that, Borgo Nuovo remained unpaved until before 1509, during the papacy of Julius II. In order to finance the construction, the owners of already existing houses were subjected to pay a special tax, since the new road would have increased the value of their real estate; the rest of the expenses had to be paid by the magistri viarum (the officers in charge with the road maintenance). On

5100-480: The Campus Martius represented an ideal area to build the monumental tombs of the members of the roman upper class. It was directly south next to another large mausoleum , the so-called Therebintus Neronis , whose demolition started during the 7th century, which had instead a circular plan and the shape of a giant tumulus tomb. While both monuments survived the great changes due to the construction of

5250-797: The Cinecittà Studios have been the set of many Academy Award –winning movies. According to the Ancient Romans' founding myth , the name Roma came from the city's founder and first king , Romulus . However, it is possible that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself. 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: Rome has also been called in ancient times simply "Urbs" (central city), from urbs roma , or identified with its ancient Roman initialism of SPQR ,

5400-529: The Dominate , derived from his title of dominus ("lord"). His most marked feature was the unprecedented intervention of the State down to the city level: whereas the State had submitted a tax demand to a city and allowed it to allocate the charges, from his reign the State did this down to the village level. In a vain attempt to control inflation, he imposed price controls which did not last. Diocletian divided

5550-679: The Gauls , Osci - Samnites and the Greek colony of Taranto , allied with Pyrrhus , king of Epirus ) whose result was the conquest of the Italian peninsula , from the central area up to Magna Graecia . The 3rd and 4th century BC saw the establishment of Roman hegemony over the Mediterranean and the Balkans through the three Punic Wars (264–146 BC) fought against Carthage and

5700-553: The Liber Notarum (his diary) on 24 December 1499 the opening of the new road: Hodie peracto prandio completa est ruptura vie nove recta a parte Castri Santi Angeli ad portam Palatii Apostolici et per eas venerunt omnes cardinales "Today after lunch was completed the opening of the new straight road between Castel Sant'Angelo and the gate of the Apostolic Palace, and through it all the cardinals came" On that day

5850-602: The Meta Romuli , linked to the traditions about the tomb of Saint Peter . The new road became the first tract of the Via Papalis , the road that each pope rode on the back of a mule during the "Cavalcata del possesso" ("Possession ride"), the ride between Saint Peter and Saint John immediately after his election to take ownership of his office of Rome's bishop . It was also used for popular happenings as horses, buffaloes, donkeys or men races, all favorite entertainments of

6000-798: The Palazzo dei Penitenzieri (facing the south side of Piazza Scossacavalli and parallel to the south side of Borgo Vecchio) caused the destruction of almost all the houses and the palaces of the road. The spina , with the whole south side of Borgo Nuovo, was demolished between 29 October 1936 and 8 October 1937. On the north side of the road, only the church of Santa Maria in Traspontina, the Palazzo Torlonia in Piazza Scossacavalli and palazzo Latmiral, an undistinguished 19th century building lying between them, were spared. To mask

6150-605: The San Lorenzo district was subject to Allied bombing raids , resulting in about 3,000 fatalities and 11,000 injuries, of whom another 1,500 died. Mussolini was arrested on 25 July 1943 . On the date of the Italian Armistice 8 September 1943 the city was occupied by the Germans. Allied bombing raids continued throughout 1943 and extended into 1944. Rome was liberated on 4 June 1944. Rome developed greatly after

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6300-653: The Sistine Chapel and Ponte Sisto (the first bridge to be built across the Tiber since antiquity, although on Roman foundations) were created. To accomplish that, the Popes engaged the best artists of the time, including Michelangelo , Perugino , Raphael , Ghirlandaio , Luca Signorelli , Botticelli , and Cosimo Rosselli . The period was also infamous for papal corruption, with many Popes fathering children, and engaging in nepotism and simony . The corruption of

6450-570: The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) as well as the headquarters of several Italian multinational companies, such as Eni , Enel , TIM , Leonardo , and banks such as BNL . Numerous companies are based within Rome's EUR business district, such as the luxury fashion house Fendi located in the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana . The presence of renowned international brands in the city has made Rome an important centre of fashion and design, and

6600-590: The Villa Borghese , Villa Ada , and Villa Doria Pamphili . Villa Doria Pamphili is west of the Gianicolo hill, comprising some 1.8 km (0.7  sq mi ). The Villa Sciarra is on the hill, with playgrounds for children and shaded walking areas. In the nearby area of Trastevere, the Orto Botanico (Botanical Garden) is a cool and shady green space. The old Roman hippodrome (Circus Maximus)

6750-434: The concrete of the building was so hard that it had to be demolished with a trip hammer ; the bangs which resulted were so loud like those produced by beating a mountain of iron. In 1948–49, during the works for the construction of the first block of the north side of Via della Conciliazione , it came to light a northwest–southeast-oriented foundation of concrete conglomeration made by tufa quarry waste, surrounded by

6900-452: The old St. Peter's Basilica , the latter was destroyed already during the Middle Ages, while the former survived until the Renaissance age becoming an important element of Rome's topography. It is clear that the man who could afford to build such a monument could only have been a prominent figure of the Roman state, but his name remains unknown. The first mention of the Meta can be found in

7050-543: The western and eastern empires respectively. The seat of government in the Western Roman Empire was transferred to Ravenna in 408, but from 450 the emperors mostly resided in Rome. Rome, which had lost its central role in the administration of the empire, was sacked in 410 by the Visigoths led by Alaric I , but very little physical damage was done, most of which was repaired. What could not be so easily replaced were portable items such as artwork in precious metals and items for domestic use (loot). The popes embellished

7200-449: The "Altare della Veronica", the most venerated relic of the Christianity. In this way, the Via Alessandrina became the first straight with a backdrop in Rome, a model that would find application under Pope Julius II ( r.  1503–13 ) with Via Giulia and almost a century later especially with Sixtus V ( r.  1585–90 ). The completion of the Via Alessandrina required the demolition of several ancient buildings: among them,

7350-412: The 13th century until its destruction. At the beginning of the 15th century, the pyramid's pinnacle was demolished; on the platform which resulted were garrisoned soldiers of the nearby Castle, who got their supplies thorough a system of ropes hanging to the fortress. Despite its importance for the city and for the church, Pope Alexander VI ordered its demolition on 26 November 1498 for the opening of

7500-526: The 16th century), Raphael built a palazzetto for Jacopo Bresciano, doctor of Pope Leo X. The building, which had an extraordinary architectural quality, has been demolished and rebuilt with another plan between via Rusticucci and Via dei Corridori, near Brigotti's house. Beyond the palazzo di Jacopo da Brescia the northern side of the road continued with Palazzo Rusticucci-Accoramboni , a large Renaissance Palace erected by Domenico Fontana and Carlo Maderno on behalf of Cardinal Girolamo Rusticucci ; In 1667,

7650-423: The Balkans made serious uncoordinated incursions that were more like giant raiding parties rather than attempts to settle. The Persian Empire invaded from the east several times during the 230s to 260s but were eventually defeated. The civil wars ended in 285 with the final victory of Diocletian , who undertook the restoration of the State. He ended the Principate and introduced a new authoritarian model known as

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7800-568: The Church. Under the popes from Pius IV to Sixtus V , Rome became the centre of a reformed Catholicism and saw the building of new monuments which celebrated the papacy. The popes and cardinals of the 17th and early 18th centuries continued the movement by having the city's landscape enriched with baroque buildings. This was another nepotistic age; the new aristocratic families ( Barberini , Pamphili , Chigi , Rospigliosi , Altieri , Odescalchi ) were protected by their respective popes, who built huge baroque buildings for their relatives. During

7950-412: The French was elected, and the papacy was briefly relocated to Avignon (1309–1377). During this period Rome was neglected, until a plebeian man, Cola di Rienzo , came to power. An idealist and a lover of ancient Rome, Cola dreamed about a rebirth of the Roman Empire: after assuming power with the title of Tribuno , his reforms were rejected by the populace. Forced to flee, Cola returned as part of

8100-463: The Gothic siege of 537, the population dropped to 30,000 but had risen to 90,000 by the papacy of Gregory the Great . The population decline coincided with the general collapse of urban life in the West in the fifth and sixth centuries, with few exceptions. Subsidized state grain distributions to the poorer members of society continued right through the sixth century and probably prevented the population from falling further. The figure of 450,000–500,000

8250-470: The Great (which by then was in a dilapidated state) was demolished and a new one begun. The city hosted artists like Ghirlandaio , Perugino , Botticelli and Bramante , who built the temple of San Pietro in Montorio and planned a great project to renovate the Vatican . Raphael, who in Rome became one of the most famous painters of Italy, created frescoes in the Villa Farnesina , the Raphael's Rooms , plus many other famous paintings. Michelangelo started

8400-399: The Greek colonies of southern Italy (mainly Ischia and Cumae ). These developments, which according to archaeological evidence took place during the mid-eighth century BC, can be considered as the "birth" of the city. Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome was founded deliberately in the middle of the eighth century BC, as the legend of Romulus suggests, remains

8550-428: The Kings was built on seven hills: the Aventine Hill , the Caelian Hill , the Capitoline Hill , the Esquiline Hill , the Palatine Hill , the Quirinal Hill , and the Viminal Hill . Modern Rome is also crossed by another river, the Aniene , which flows into the Tiber north of the historic centre. Although the city centre is about 24 km (15 mi) inland from the Tyrrhenian Sea , the city territory extends to

8700-430: The Palazzo Pio. The Meta Romuli was a monumental burial erected in the Roman age on the right bank of the Tiber , near the intersection of two Roman roads, the Via Cornelia and the Via Triumphalis , in an area outside the pomerium (the religious boundary around Rome); this area, named Ager Vaticanus , hosted at that time numerous cemetery areas such as the nearby Vatican Necropolis and, due to its proximity to

8850-413: The Papal States were reconstituted by a decision of the Congress of Vienna of 1814. In 1849, a second Roman Republic was proclaimed during a year of revolutions in 1848 . Two of the most influential figures of the Italian unification , Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi , fought for the short-lived republic. Rome then became the focus of hopes of Italian reunification after the rest of Italy

9000-435: The Popes and the huge expenses for their building projects led, in part, to the Reformation and, in turn, the Counter-Reformation . Under extravagant and rich popes, Rome was transformed into a centre of art, poetry, music, literature, education and culture. Rome became able to compete with other major European cities of the time in terms of wealth, grandeur, the arts, learning and architecture. The Renaissance period changed

9150-399: The Popes was interrupted by the short-lived Roman Republic (1798–1800), which was established under the influence of the French Revolution . The Papal States were restored in June 1800, but during Napoleon 's reign Rome was annexed as a Département of the French Empire : first as Département du Tibre (1808–1810) and then as Département Rome (1810–1814). After the fall of Napoleon,

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9300-447: The Romans expelled the last king from their city and established an oligarchic republic led by two annually-elected consuls . Rome then began a period characterised by internal struggles between patricians (aristocrats) and plebeians (small landowners), and by constant warfare against the populations of central Italy: Etruscans, Latins, Volsci , Aequi , and Marsi . After becoming master of Latium , Rome led several wars (against

9450-417: The Third Century , during which numerous generals fought for power and the central authority in Rome weakened dramatically. Around the same time, the Plague of Cyprian ( c. 250–270) afflicted the Mediterranean. Instability caused economic deterioration, and there was a rapid rise in inflation as the government debased the currency in order to meet expenses. The Germanic tribes along the Rhine and north of

9600-510: The Traspontina, Antonio da Sangallo the younger erected between Borgo Vecchio and Borgo Nuovo the Palazzo del Governatore di Borgo ("Borgo's governor palace"), originally designed as home of apostolic Protonotary Giovanni dal Pozzo; after being converted into jail, the building decayed. The palace was demolished in 1937, but its portal was reused in a new building erected by Marcello Piacentini at Via della Conciliazione n. 15. At about one third of its length coming from east, Borgo Nuovo led to

9750-423: The Virgin and a small church was erected. Heading west after the arch, Febo Brigotti, a doctor of Pope Paul III ( r.  1534–49 ), let erect at the end of 15th century an elegant two–storey palazzetto at the n. 106–107 of the road; the facade bore two inscription, one above the epistyle, "PHOEBUS BRIGOCTUS MEDICUS", and, on one side, the motto of the doctor: "OB FIDEM ET CHLIENTELA" ("Due to

9900-429: The above–mentioned demolition of the first south block of the road in occasion of the erection of St. Peter Square let the palace overlook the new piazza, which took the building's name. The building was demolished in 1940 and rebuilt along the north side of Via della Conciliazione. The northern side of Borgo Nuovo until the construction of the colonnade of St. Peter's Square ended with a block whose last building on

10050-415: The architects involved in the road's design, and Borgo Nuovo became soon one of the most fashionable roads of the city. During the Renaissance many among the new houses of the quarter were decorated with paintings ( fresco and graffito ). As of today, the only surviving decorated house in the Borgo is the one along Vicolo del Campanile, a former side lane of Borgo Nuovo. The work on the road continued under

10200-415: The axis of the Basilica, defined by the obelisk of the circus of Caligola erected in 1595 by Domenico Fontana before the center of the facade of the ancient basilica; this effect was obtained by creating in front of the basilica a symmetrical trapezoidal space through the construction of the two covered paths ( corridori ). The north corridore of Maderno 's St. Peter's façade, leading to the Scala Regia ,

10350-437: The beginning of the "spina". The palace was demolished in 1936 and the fountain was moved to the Vatican City in 1958. In 1858 at the beginning of the Borghi Pius IX let build by Luigi Poletti two twin buildings that–together with the dolphins' fountain–provided a scenic entrance to the Leonine city . During all this period, and until its demolition, Borgo Nuovo was a prestigious, touristic and busy road, unlike

10500-403: The birth of the conclave . In this period the city was also shattered by continuous fights between the aristocratic families: Annibaldi , Caetani , Colonna , Orsini , Conti , nested in their fortresses built above ancient Roman edifices, fought each other to control the papacy. Pope Boniface VIII , born Caetani, was the last pope to fight for the church's universal domain ; he proclaimed

10650-411: The castle's ramparts. The church, which became one of the parishes of the Borgo, was run by the Carmelites , which lived in a monastery placed to the east of the shrine; to the right side of Santa Maria was erected an Oratory devoted to the Christian doctrine, built in 1714–15. While the monastery was pulled down in 1939, church and oratory exist still today along Via della Conciliazione. In front of

10800-551: The center of the Borgo. Together with the nearby road of Borgo Vecchio , of probable Roman origin, Borgo Nuovo delimited the so–called spina (the name derives from its resemblance with the median strip of a Roman circus ), composed of several blocks elongated in E–;W direction between the castle and Saint Peter . The road was named Via Alexandrina , Via Pontificum or Via Recta , later Borgo Nuovo . The first denomination came from Pope Alexander VI who erected it;

10950-460: The city centre in order to build wide avenues and squares which were supposed to celebrate the fascist regime and the resurgence and glorification of classical Rome. The interwar period saw a rapid growth in the city's population which surpassed one million inhabitants soon after 1930. During World War II, due to the art treasuries and the presence of the Vatican, Rome largely escaped the tragic destiny of other European cities. However, on 19 July 1943,

11100-568: The city took his name. According to the Roman annalists , this happened on 21 April 753 BC. This legend had to be reconciled with a dual tradition, set earlier in time, that had the Trojan refugee Aeneas escape to Italy and found the line of Romans through his son Iulus , the namesake of the Julio-Claudian dynasty . This was accomplished by the Roman poet Virgil in the first century BC. In addition, Strabo mentions an older story, that

11250-624: The city was affected by the divisions which rocked the Church. In 1418, the Council of Constance settled the Western Schism , and a Roman pope, Martin V , was elected. This brought to Rome a century of internal peace, which marked the beginning of the Renaissance . The ruling popes until the first half of the 16th century, from Nicholas V , founder of the Vatican Library , to Pius II , humanist and literate, from Sixtus IV ,

11400-554: The city was an Arcadian colony founded by Evander . Strabo also writes that Lucius Coelius Antipater believed that Rome was founded by Greeks. After the foundation by Romulus according to a legend, Rome was ruled for a period of 244 years by a monarchical system , initially with sovereigns of Latin and Sabine origin, later by Etruscan kings. The tradition handed down seven kings: Romulus , Numa Pompilius , Tullus Hostilius , Ancus Marcius , Tarquinius Priscus , Servius Tullius and Lucius Tarquinius Superbus . In 509 BC,

11550-471: The city with large basilicas, such as Santa Maria Maggiore (with the collaboration of the emperors). The population of the city had fallen from 800,000 to 450–500,000 by the time the city was sacked in 455 by Genseric , king of the Vandals . The weak emperors of the fifth century could not stop the decay, leading to the deposition of Romulus Augustus , who resided on Ravenna, on 4 September 476. This marked

11700-548: 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 14th most visited city in the world, with 8.6 million tourists, the third most visited city in the European Union, and the most popular tourist destination in Italy. Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site . The host city for the 1960 Summer Olympics , Rome

11850-455: The coldest months, with a daily mean temperature of approximately 8 °C (46 °F). Temperatures during these months generally vary between 10 and 15 °C (50 and 59 °F) during the day and between 3 and 5 °C (37 and 41 °F) at night, with colder or warmer spells occurring frequently. Snowfall is rare but not unheard of, with light snow or flurries occurring on some winters, generally without accumulation, and major snowfalls on

12000-589: The construction of the colonnade of Bernini , the first block of the spina between Borgo Vecchio and Borgo Nuovo, named isola del Priorato after the building hosting the Priory of the Knights of Rhodes , was pulled down by Bernini in order to create a space–the Piazza Rusticucci–;which allowed the full view of Saint Peter's dome, hidden by Maderno's nave . Because of that Borgo Nuovo

12150-406: The construction of St. Peter's Square. The western end of the south side of the street (the aforementioned isola del Priorato ) until the creation of St. Peter's Square was instead occupied in part by Palazzo Branconio dell'Aquila , a Renaissance building erected between 1518 and 1520 by Giovanbattista Branconio dell'Aquila , treasurer of Pope Leo X, patron and close friend of Raphael, who drew up

12300-584: The decoration of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and executed the famous statue of the Moses for the tomb of Julius II. Its economy was rich, with the presence of several Tuscan bankers, including Agostino Chigi , who was a friend of Raphael and a patron of arts. Before his early death, Raphael also promoted for the first time the preservation of the ancient ruins. The War of the League of Cognac caused

12450-472: The demolition of the pyramid was not complete, since Raphael , who arrived in Rome in 1509, in a letter to Pope Leo X written in 1519 about the antiquities of the city, writes that he could still see the remains of the monument. In 1511, Pope Julius II claimed ownership of the monument, and in several documents of the 16th century until 1568 the Meta was cited as the end of the Palio race. The adoption of

12600-441: The demolition works, the fountain has been found in the municipal storerooms. Up ahead, on the north side, at the n. 46, Buto, a doctor active during the reign of Paul III , let erect a palazzetto whose façade was adorned with the busts of Galenus and Hippocrates and on the friezes of the three windows at the piano nobile bore the inscription "DEO, PAULO ET LABORIBUS" ("To God, Paul (III) and (my) works"); This building

12750-410: The demolition, could visit the burial chamber , which was reachable through a long tunnel; its walls had four niches to keep the defuncts' ashes, and with a side of 7 m and a height of 10.5 m it was almost as big as that of the Mausoleum of Hadrian (which has a side of 7.8 m and a height of 10–12 m). Ferno writes also that during its demolition, which took place between April and 24 December 1499,

12900-616: The depictions of St. Peter's martyrdom. The tomb had also a great importance for the pilgrims who reach Saint Peter, since on their way to the Basilica they met the tomb of the founder of the city before that of the founder of the church. Due to that, the Meta Romuli was a popular subject in the representations of the city in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Some examples are the Stefaneschi Polyptych by Giotto ;

13050-410: The different alignment of the 3 surviving edifices with respect both to the new adjacent blocks and to those along the south side of the new road (which were aligned with Borgo Vecchio), a double row of obelisks surmounted by lanterns were put in place; the Romans wittily nicknamed them "le supposte" ("the suppositories"), noticing that Via della Conciliazione looked now like the monumental entrance to

13200-475: The direction of Antonio da Sangallo the Elder also with Pope Leo X ( r.  1513–21 ), who financed it with the huge sum of 1,444 ducati . During the reign of Pope Alexander VII ( r.  1655–67 ), in the context of the construction of St. Peter's Square Gian Lorenzo Bernini integrated Borgo Nuovo in the project of the new square. The optical axis given by Borgo Nuovo was overturned with respect to

13350-545: The east end of the road, on the south side, at n. 29–30, there was a little chapel erected by Pius VI ( r.  1775–99 ) in 1796, closed by a gate and surmounted by the Pope's coat of arms and an epigraph . It housed a charcoal–drawn Madonna col Figlio Morto ("Madonna with dead Son"), originally placed on a wall in the Vicolo della Fontanella (a covered passage between Borgo Vecchio and Borgo Nuovo). Against

13500-546: The empire in 286, ruling over the eastern half from Nicomedia , while his co-emperor Maximian ruled the western half from Mediolanum (when not on the move). The empire was further divided in 293, when Diocletian named two caesar , one for each augustus (emperor). Diocletian tried to turn into a system of non-dynastic succession, similar to the Antonine dynasty. Upon abdication in 305, both caesars succeeded and they, in turn, appointed two colleagues for themselves. However,

13650-536: The end of the Western Roman Empire and, for many historians, the beginning of the Middle Ages . The decline of the city's population was caused by the loss of grain shipments from North Africa, from 440 onward, and the unwillingness of the senatorial class to maintain donations to support a population that was too large for the resources available. Even so, strenuous efforts were made to maintain

13800-400: The entourage of Cardinal Albornoz , who was charged with restoring the Church's power in Italy. Back in power for a short time, Cola was soon lynched by the populace, and Albornoz took possession of the city. In 1377, Rome became the seat of the papacy again under Gregory XI . The return of the pope to Rome in that year unleashed the Western Schism (1377–1418), and for the next forty years,

13950-600: The face of Rome dramatically, with works like the Pietà by Michelangelo and the frescoes of the Borgia Apartments . Rome reached the highest point of splendour under Pope Julius II (1503–1513) and his successors Leo X and Clement VII , both members of the Medici family . In this twenty-year period, Rome became one of the greatest centres of art in the world. The old St. Peter's Basilica built by Emperor Constantine

14100-423: The failed attempt of social reform of the populares Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus , and the war against Jugurtha , there was a civil war from which the general Sulla emerged victorious. A major slave revolt under Spartacus followed, and then the establishment of the first Triumvirate with Caesar , Pompey and Crassus . The conquest of Gaul made Caesar immensely powerful and popular, which led to

14250-478: The faith and the customers"). This house was pulled down in 1937, but its prospect has been rebuilt using original materials not far away, in front of the Passetto along via dei Corridori, the road parallel to Via della Conciliazione. Bordering Brigotti's house, at the n. 163, at the crossing between Borgo Nuovo and Vicolo dell'Elefante ("Elephant's Lane", so named to remember Hanno the elephant , here lodged in

14400-413: The figure of the virgin a drunkard a few years earlier had thrown a slice of melon , whose seeds had remained attached to the rays drawn above Mary's forehead. The Madonna, called after that "of the melon" or "of the seed" was positioned in a golden frame held by angels in stucco . Next to the chapel, Pius VI had a small fountain built, consisting of a frame surmounted by an epigraph and his coat of arms;

14550-677: The first half of the first century (under Tiberius ) and popularised by his apostles through the empire and beyond. The Antonine age is considered the zenith of the Empire, whose territory ranged from the Atlantic Ocean to the Euphrates and from Britain to Egypt . After the end of the Severan dynasty in AD 235, the Empire entered into a 50-year period known as the Crisis of

14700-632: The first plunder of the city in more than five hundred years since the previous sack ; in 1527, the Landsknechts of Emperor Charles V sacked the city , bringing an abrupt end to the golden age of the Renaissance in Rome. Beginning with the Council of Trent in 1545, the Church began the Counter-Reformation in response to the Reformation, a large-scale questioning of the Church's authority on spiritual matters and governmental affairs. This loss of confidence led to major shifts of power away from

14850-541: The graveyard of Remus . Riario, with the technical advice of several architects (among them Antonio da Sangallo the Elder and Giuliano da Sangallo ) decided to rectify this lane and a new road, the Via Alexandrina or Recta , was opened after an intense work six months long, started in April 1499. Giovanni Burcardo ( Johannes Burckardt from Strassburg , Master of Ceremonies of the pope), records in this way in

15000-471: The help of the plebs (urban lower class) to gain power. In the same period, the bankruptcy of the small farmers and the establishment of large slave estates caused large-scale migration to the city. The continuous warfare led to the establishment of a professional army, which turned out to be more loyal to its generals than to the republic. Because of this, in the late 2nd and early 1st century BC there were several conflicts both abroad and internally: after

15150-460: The last 3 years of his life, dying there in 1520. Later, the building was enlarged, becoming the Palazzo dei Convertendi . Along Borgo Nuovo the palace had a monumental portal surmounted by a balcony, both designed by Baldassarre Peruzzi ; the latter was considered the most beautiful in the whole city. The Palazzo dei Convertendi was demolished in 1937 and rebuilt in 1941 west of Palazzo Torlonia with another plan but reusing original elements, included

15300-532: The lead and consult experts. On 20 February 1499 the pope asked Riario: ...ut a magistris viarum et architectis quantum foret impense ad dirigendam viam a Porta Castri ad Palatium usque intelligent ac sibi postea referret. ... that they should take note of, and afterwards report to him, the cost incurred by roadbuilders and architects in making a road from the Castle Gate to the Palace. North of Borgo Vecchio

15450-581: The little church devoted to the Virgin Mary . Santa Maria della Purità was erected here inside the ruins of a house destroyed during the sack of Rome of 1527 to remember a miracle which happened here in 1530; after praying a fresco with the Virgin Mary which had survived on a wall of the ruined house, a woman prayed the Virgin to heal her hand: after the healing, more and more people came here to pray

15600-516: The mid-1980s when the comune had more than 2.8 million residents. After this, the population declined slowly as people began to move to nearby suburbs. Rome is in the Lazio region of central Italy on the Tiber ( Italian : Tevere ) river. The original settlement developed on hills that faced onto a ford beside the Tiber Island , the only natural ford of the river in this area. The Rome of

15750-623: The monumental centre, the palatine, and the largest baths, which continued to function until the Gothic siege of 537. The large baths of Constantine on the Quirinale were even repaired in 443, and the extent of the damage exaggerated and dramatised. However, the city gave an appearance overall of shabbiness and decay because of the large abandoned areas due to population decline. The population declined to 500,000 by 452 and 100,000 by 500 AD (perhaps larger, though no certain figure can be known). After

15900-403: The nearby Borgo Vecchio, which was secluded, familiar and simple. Between 1934 and 1936, when the project of Via della Conciliazione was developed, architects Marcello Piacentini and Attilio Spaccarelli chose to give to the new road the alignment of the nearby Borgo Vecchio road, and not of Borgo Nuovo. This resolution, made because both of reasons of perspective and to avoid the demolition of

16050-453: The new Via Alessandrina (later known as Borgo Nuovo ), a road which connected the Vatican area with the bridge crossing the Tiber . Due to the difficulty of the undertaking, the pope conceded a plenary indulgence to the men willing to help. On 24 December 1499, the pope blocked all the old roads between Saint Peter and the Tiber, forcing the people to use the new thoroughfare; however,

16200-465: The noble Roman families and by French king Charles VIII ( r.  1483–98 ) (who in 1494 had occupied the city, while the pope remained barricaded in the Castel Sant'Angelo ), decided to restructure the citadel of Borgo and the castle. In this context, Castel Sant'Angelo assumed the role of hinge between the city and the citadel, and the need arose to build a straight road between the castle and

16350-693: The north Latium town of Sutri to the Church, starting its temporal power. In 756, Pepin the Short , after having defeated the Lombards, gave the Pope temporal jurisdiction over the Roman Duchy and the Exarchate of Ravenna , thus creating the Papal States . Since this period, three powers tried to rule the city: the pope, the nobility (together with the chiefs of militias, the judges, the Senate and

16500-431: The other side, in order to develop the road's surroundings, people willing to erect buildings at least 5 canne (11 m (36 ft) ca.) high along the new road received special privileges, such as tax exemptions. Cardinals, noble families and rich bourgeois made use of this opportunity, erecting palaces and houses, designed in the new classicist style of Antonio da Sangallo the Elder and Donato Bramante , two among

16650-475: The outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War . Italian troops were able to capture Rome entering the city through a breach near Porta Pia . Pope Pius IX declared himself a prisoner in the Vatican . In 1871 the capital of Italy was moved from Florence to Rome. In 1870 the population of the city was 212,000, all of whom lived with the area circumscribed by the ancient city, and in 1920, the population

16800-563: The outlines of the Palazzo della Cancelleria . This building, which now belongs to the Torlonia family, has been spared by the demolition of the road and is now part of the north side of Via della Conciliazione. Between the west side of piazza Scossacavalli and the south side of Borgo Nuovo, the Caprini family from Viterbo let erect by Bramante their Roman residence . The palace was then bought by Raphael , who completed it and spent there

16950-455: The papacy twice, with Leo X and Clement VII did not allow him to fulfill his plan. The houses survived unscathed until the end of the 19th century, when they were pulled down and substituted with an apartment block with shops at parterre. After the house of the Soderini, along Borgo Nuovo's north side, lay a small arch, the "Arco della Purità" ("Purity's arch"), leading to a short lane hosting

17100-573: The pope ordered the Carriera Sancta (the future Borgo Vecchio) to be closed off, so as to force the traffic along the newly inaugurated route. The road connected the Castle 's gate with the gate of the Apostolic palace; unlike the near Borgo Vecchio, it was not a processional path, but a direct link between Castrum and Palatium , parallel to the Passetto , the covered passage which allowed

17250-503: The pope to escape to the castle in case of danger, and that would have been used few years later by pope Clement VII ( r.  1523–34 ) escaping in night robe after Frundsberg 's Landsknechts . The design of the road was completed with the opening in Vatican of a new gate, the " Porta Santa " which was going to substitute the "Porta Aurea" of St. John in Lateran ; this gate allowed the pilgrims coming from Borgo Nuovo to meet at once

17400-512: The pope, the emperor, and each other. These were the times of Theodora and her daughter Marozia , concubines and mothers of several popes, and of Crescentius , a powerful feudal lord, who fought against the Emperors Otto II and Otto III . The scandals of this period forced the papacy to reform itself: the election of the pope was reserved to the cardinals, and reform of the clergy was attempted. The driving force behind this renewal

17550-458: The populace), and the Frankish king, as king of the Lombards, patricius, and Emperor. These three parties (theocratic, republican, and imperial) were a characteristic of Roman life during the entire Middle Ages. On Christmas night of 800, Charlemagne was crowned in Rome as Emperor by Pope Leo III : on that occasion, the city hosted for the first time the two powers whose struggle for control

17700-576: The portal with the balcony. Some years before the construction of the road, Florentine Cardinal Piero Soderini built in the Borgo a row of seven houses with porch in Tuscan renaissance style; after the road's erection, the houses overlooked its north side. Soderini actually wanted to pull down the block and built a palace by Bramante, but his turbulent life (he was a staunch enemy of the House of Medici , which for his misfortune, during those years arrived to

17850-417: The previous situation was restored. At the east end of the spina between Borgo Vecchio and Borgo Nuovo, in 1850 a new building, palazzo Sauve, was erected; this replaced a house which had been pulled down during the Roman Republic of 1849 . On the east façade of the building a large fountain, the "Fontana dei Delfini" ("Dolphins' Fountain") was erected by Pope Pius IX ( r.  1846–78 ) in 1861, marking

18000-589: The project. The palace, considered at the time of its erection the most beautiful building in Rome, was also demolished in 1667. Rome Rome ( Italian and Latin : Roma , pronounced [ˈroːma] ) is the capital city of Italy . It is also the capital of the Lazio region , the centre of the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital , and a special comune (municipality) named Comune di Roma Capitale . With 2,860,009 residents in 1,285 km (496.1 sq mi), Rome

18150-549: The pyramidal shape for sepulchral monuments was popular during the Augustan period, in the context of cultural influences from Egypt. Many pyramidal tombs were built, between 40 and 50 meters high, of which only that of Gaius Cestius survives. The Vatican pyramid dated back presumably to the same age or to the first imperial age, and according to evidence was larger than the Cestia pyramid; as per 15th-century accounts, it had

18300-525: The road in the Monti rione which took its name from him. In the mid–15th century, at the beginning of the Renaissance , the connection between Rome and Saint Peter were secured by two ancient roads, Borgo Vecchio and Borgo Santo Spirito, both linking the Castle to the square in front of Old Saint Peter's Basilica . To raise the traffic capacity, another road leading to Saint Peter from Ponte Sant'Angelo

18450-501: The second because it became the first part of the Via Papalis , the road that the new pope had to ride to reach St. John ; the third ("straight road") from its layout, a rarity in Rome at that time; the fourth was chosen in accordance with the nearby road of Borgo Vecchio. The name Via Alessandrina fell into disuse after 1570, when Cardinal Michele Bonelli , nicknamed "Cardinal Alessandrino" from his hometown in Piedmont , opened

18600-483: The shore, where the south-western district of Ostia is located. The altitude of the central part of Rome ranges from 13 m (43 ft) above sea level (at the base of the Pantheon ) to 139 m (456 ft) above sea level (the peak of Monte Mario ). The Comune of Rome covers an overall area of about 1,285 km (496 sq mi), including many green areas. Public parks and nature reserves cover

18750-581: The shores of the Tiber Valley . Vatican City (the smallest country in the world and headquarters of the worldwide Catholic Church under the governance of the Holy See ) is an independent country inside the city boundaries of Rome, the only existing example of a country within a city. Rome is often referred to as the City of Seven Hills due to its geographic location, and also as the "Eternal City". Rome

18900-406: The small Piazza Scossacavalli, the center of the rione . In the early 16th century, along three sides of the piazza were erected large palaces, while the fourth hosted the Church of San Giacomo . On the N side, aligned with Borgo Nuovo, Adriano Castellesi , treasurer of Alexander VI and later Cardinal of Corneto (today's Tarquinia ), let erect (possibly by Donato Bramante) a palace , which follows

19050-402: The street was the church of Santa Caterina delle Cavallerotte (or Cavalierotte : so were called in Rome girls from rich and noble families who wanted to become nuns ), founded in the 14th century. Demolished in part for the construction of Via Alessandrina , the church was rebuilt in seven months between 1508 and 1509 to a design by Giuliano da Sangallo, and demolished with the whole block for

19200-682: The successors of Peter, who is considered the first Bishop of Rome. The city thus became of increasing importance as the centre of the Catholic Church . After the Lombard invasion of Italy (569–572), the city remained nominally Byzantine, but in reality, the popes pursued a policy of equilibrium between the Byzantines , the Franks , and the Lombards . In 729, the Lombard king Liutprand donated

19350-542: The support system from its control. Christianity in the form of the Nicene Creed became the official religion of the empire in 380, via the Edict of Thessalonica issued in the name of three emperors – Gratian, Valentinian II, and Theodosius I – with Theodosius clearly the driving force behind it. He was the last emperor of a unified empire: after his death in 395, his young children, Honorius and Arcadius , inherited

19500-527: The surrounding quarter in 1936–37 due to the construction of Via della Conciliazione . Located in the Borgo rione , the straight road stretched in E–W direction, between Piazza Pia , which marks the entrance of the quarter near the right bank of the Tiber , and the north edge of Piazza Rusticucci , which until its demolition was the vestibule of Saint Peter's Square . At about two thirds of its length, Borgo Nuovo crossed Piazza Scossacavalli ,

19650-569: The symbol of Rome's constituted republican government . Furthermore, Rome has been called Urbs Aeterna (The Eternal City), Caput Mundi (The Capital of the world ), Throne of St. Peter and Roma Capitale. While there have been discoveries of archaeological evidence of human occupation of the Rome area from approximately 14,000 years ago, the dense layer of much younger debris obscures Palaeolithic and Neolithic sites. Evidence of stone tools, pottery, and stone weapons attest to about 10,000 years of human presence. Several excavations support

19800-471: The three Macedonian Wars (212–168 BC) against Macedonia . The first Roman provinces were established at this time: Sicily , Sardinia and Corsica , Hispania , Macedonia , Achaea and Africa . From the beginning of the 2nd century BC, power was contested between two groups of aristocrats: the optimates , representing the conservative part of the Senate , and the populares , which relied on

19950-717: The view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman Forum . Between the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age , each hill between the sea and the Capitoline Hill was topped by a village (on the Capitoline, a village is attested since the end of the 14th century BC). However, none of them yet had an urban quality. Nowadays, there

20100-433: The war as part of the " Italian economic miracle " of post-war reconstruction and modernisation in the 1950s and early 1960s. During this period, the years of la dolce vita ("the sweet life"), Rome became a fashionable city, with popular classic films such as Ben Hur , Quo Vadis , Roman Holiday and La Dolce Vita filmed in the city's iconic Cinecittà Studios . The rising trend in population growth continued until

20250-464: The water poured from a white marble putto 's head with his cheeks outstretched because of the effort to channel the jet into a basin. The fountain, very popular in the ward, was nicknamed "del Ricciotto" ("of the curly child") because of the head's curly hair. Subsequently leaned against the front of the Carmelites convent on the opposite side of the road, and long believed to have been lost during

20400-424: Was 660,000. A significant portion lived outside the walls in the north and across the Tiber in the Vatican area. Soon after World War I in late 1922 Rome witnessed the rise of Italian Fascism led by Benito Mussolini , who led a march on the city . He did away with democracy by 1926, eventually declaring a new Italian Empire and allying Italy with Nazi Germany in 1938. Mussolini demolished fairly large parts of

20550-560: Was also taken up by Ovid , Virgil , and Livy . 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

20700-528: Was built by Pope Sixtus IV ( r.  1471–84 ) for the holy year of 1475: Borgo Sant'Angelo, also known from his founder as via Sistina . This path ran just south of the Passetto (the covered passage linking the Vatican with the Castle); anyway, also this road was not sufficient to solve the traffic problem. At the end of the 15th century, Alexander VI, whose power was at the time contested by several of

20850-415: Was considered by Bernini as a covered prosecution of the road: the right arm of the colonnade stops just before the axis of the road in order to not interrupt the line of sight between the road and the northern corridore . In this way, the main axis of Borgo turns into the secondary axis of Saint Peter's Square, and is duplicated for reasons of symmetry by building the southern corridore . Around 1660, after

21000-457: Was demolished after 1938. A new, magnificent church dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Santa Maria in Traspontina ("St. Mary behind the bridge"), was built since 1566 along the N side of Borgo Nuovo, towards the middle of the road, under the direction of Giovanni Sallustio Peruzzi and Ottavio Mascherino . This church substituted the old church bearing the same name, which had to be pulled down in 1564, when Pius IV ( r.  1559–65 ) renewed

21150-469: Was deprived of its western end. At the beginning of the 19th century, when Rome was part of the First French Empire , the prefect of the city, de Tournon , included in his program of urban renewal the demolition of the spina , and thus of Borgo Nuovo. Anyway, at the fall of Napoleon only the first three houses at the east end of the road had been demolished; after the comeback of the pope

21300-670: Was first under the control of Odoacer and then became part of the Ostrogothic Kingdom before returning to East Roman control after the Gothic War , which devastated the city in 546 and 550 . Its population declined from more than a million in AD 210 to 500,000 in AD 273 to 35,000 after the Gothic War (535–554), reducing the sprawling city to groups of inhabited buildings interspersed among large areas of ruins, vegetation, vineyards and market gardens. It

21450-443: Was governed by creating regional dioceses. The existence of regional fiscal units from 286 served as the model for this unprecedented innovation. The emperor quickened the process of removing military command from governors. Henceforth, civilian administration and military command would be separate. He gave governors more fiscal duties and placed them in charge of the army logistical support system as an attempt to control it by removing

21600-577: Was heading south to fight the Hohenstaufen on behalf of the pope, was appointed Senator. Charles founded the Sapienza , the university of Rome. In that period the pope died, and the cardinals, summoned in Viterbo , could not agree on his successor. This angered the people of the city, who then unroofed the building where they met and imprisoned them until they had nominated the new pope; this marked

21750-444: Was known as the caput Mundi , i.e. the capital of the known world, an expression which had already been used in the Republican period. During its first two centuries, the empire was ruled by emperors of the Julio-Claudian , Flavian (who built an eponymous amphitheatre known as the Colosseum ), and Antonine dynasties. This time was also characterised by the spread of the Christian religion, preached by Jesus Christ in Judea in

21900-427: Was placed either between the Therebintus and the Meta Romuli, or between the latter and the obelisk of the Circus of Nero , or - in a larger context - in the mid-point between the Meta Romuli and the pyramid of Cestius, that is the place on the Janiculum hill called Montorio , where in the Renaissance Donato Bramante built the Tempietto di San Pietro ; consequently, the pyramid was represented for centuries in

22050-405: Was restored in part much later). In 330, he transformed Byzantium into Constantinople , which became his new capital. However, it was not officially anything more than an imperial residence like Milan , Trier or Nicomedia until given a city prefect in 359 by Constantius II . Constantine, following Diocletian's reforms. regionalised the administration, which fundamentally changed the way it

22200-399: Was the monk Ildebrando da Soana , who once elected pope under the name of Gregory VII became involved into the Investiture Controversy against Emperor Henry IV . Subsequently, Rome was sacked and burned by the Normans under Robert Guiscard who had entered the city in support of the Pope, then besieged in Castel Sant'Angelo . During this period, the city was autonomously ruled by

22350-409: Was to be a constant of the Middle Ages. This event marks the beginning of the Carolingian Empire , the first phase of the Holy Roman Empire . In 846, Muslim Arabs unsuccessfully stormed the city's walls , but managed to loot St. Peter 's and St. Paul's basilica, both outside the city wall. After the decay of Carolingian power , Rome fell prey to feudal chaos: several noble families fought against

22500-431: Was united as the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 with the temporary capital in Florence . That year Rome was declared the capital of Italy even though it was still under the Pope's control. During the 1860s, the last vestiges of the Papal States were under French protection thanks to the foreign policy of Napoleon III . French troops were stationed in the region under Papal control. In 1870 the French troops were withdrawn due to

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