ROME
Visitors from all over the world regularly stream into
Rome, the capital of Italy. Pilgrims, scholars, art
lovers, and tourists are fascinated with the Eternal
City. More than 3,000 years old, Rome has survived countless
devastating invasions. Magnificent remains of the powerful
Roman Empire lie in the heart of a modern metropolis.
Pagan temples stand among Renaissance churches and palaces.
Here stands St. Peter's Basilica, which attracts Roman
Catholic pilgrims from all nations.
Rome has a moderate climate with mild, rainy winters
and comparatively hot, dry summers;
frost and snow are unusual. The people of Rome spend
much of their leisure time outdoors. They love to go
for walks (passeggiate) and stop by the local bars,
outdoor cafes, pizzerias, and inexpensive restaurants
(trattorie). Frost-sensitive palm trees are common in
Rome, lending a subtropical air. The wealthy live in
apartments
in condominiums or in large villas, enclosed by high
walls, with flourishing gardens.
However, large numbers of poor live in the suburban
slums (borgate).
Site
Rome
is located on the Tiber River in the west-central part
of the Italian mainland, 15 miles (24 kilometers) from
the Tyrrhenian Sea (part of the Mediterranean), where
its ancient port was at Ostia. Rome lies on the Campagna,
a coastal lowland built up from volcanic rocks and clays.
This plain is bordered on the east by the high Apennine
Mountains. The Alban Hills are to the southeast, the
Prenestine Hills to the east, the Sabine Hills to the
northeast, and the Sabatini Hills to the northwest.
The Tiber is joined by the Aniene River on the northern
outskirts of the city. It moves southward through an
incised valley roughly 150 feet (50 meters) below the
plain which has an average width of less than 400 feet
(120 meters). Thus through the centuries the construction
of bridges has been relatively easy. The river was never
a major obstacle to development because an island (Tiberina)
in the central Tiber provided a natural crossing place.
The famous Seven Hills of Rome Palatine, Capitoline,
Aventine, Viminal, Quirinal, Esquiline, and Caelian
are ridges of the Campagna. They were originally separated
from each other by malarial marshes, which over the
centuries were drained and occupied. Although the Seven
Hills are not very high 100 to 200 feet (30 to 60 meters)
they served the initial course of settlement.
Other hills include Monte Gianicolo (the Janiculum)
as well as Monte Mario and Monte Sacro in the northern
residential suburbs.
Central Rome
The
ancient center of Rome is encircled by the Aurelian
Wall (Muro Torto), which dates from about AD 270. Built
of concrete-faced bricks, it girdled about four square
miles (10 square kilometers). It was later extended
but now includes only 4 percent of the modern municipality.
Central Rome is by far the smallest of the city's administrative
zones and encompasses small wards that retain the ancient
name rioni. Surrounding this core are numerous larger
urban districts known as quartieri.
The heart of the inner city is the Piazza Venezia, dominated
by a large white marble monument named after King Victor
Emmanuel, who united modern Italy. The piazza contains
the Palazzo Venezia, the palace where Benito Mussolini
harangued hundreds of thousands of his fascist supporters.
It is the southern terminus of Rome's most famous street,
the Via del Corso. The Corso extends northward to the
Piazza del Popolo, whose gate was fashioned by the sculptor
Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini; it leads to the Via Flaminia.
The church nearest the portal is Santa Maria del Popolo,
with its renowned Caravaggio paintings depicting the
conversions of Sts. Peter and Paul. The piazza is framed
by two smaller matching churches and has an obelisk
and fountains. It was designed as the chief ceremonial
entry to Rome and is an architectural wonder.
One of the joys of Rome is a nighttime visit to the
lighted piazza.
At the Corso's midpoint lies the Piazza Colonna. This
large square is dominated by a statue of the Roman emperor
Marcus Aurelius. On the east side there is a galleria,
while on the west is the Palazzo Chigi, the residence
of Italy's premier. Close by is the Palazzo Montecitorio,
which houses the Italian parliament's Chamber of Deputies.
South of the Piazza Venezia is the Via dei Fori Imperiale,
which leads through ancient Rome.
It is commanded by the Colosseum and the Roman forums
the heart of classical Rome and the centers of commercial,
legal, and administrative activity. The Colosseum was
the amphitheater where gladiators fought bloody battles
and Christians were slaughtered.
These relics were later wrecked by barbarians and vandals;
still later religious fanatics cut off the
heads of the Roman figures. Ultimately the stone and
marble remains were used to build Rome's
medieval and Renaissance churches. Beyond the Colosseum
are the renowned Arch of Constantine and,
a few blocks away, the Baths of Caracalla (see Architecture,
"Pagan Rome"). Overlooking the Roman
ruins are the Palatine and Capitoline hills. The site
of the Campidoglio, Rome's city hall,
the Capitoline Hill offers fine panoramic views of the
remains of ancient Rome.
Medieval and Renaissance Rome was centered on the maze
of narrow streets and alleys known as
the Field of Mars (Campus Martius). These streets and
small squares are now sites of residential,
commercial, and political activities. The Palazzo Madama
is the seat of the Italian Senate. Notable too is the
17th-century Piazza Navona(apartments
for rent listing) whose three fountains include
Bernini's Four Rivers (the Ganges, Danube, de la Plata,
and Nile) (see Fountain). The piazza was originally
the Diocletian Circus,
and in medieval times it was flooded to stage naval
maneuvers. Another key feature of the Field of
Mars is the Roman Pantheon, a remarkably well-preserved
building though it has been stripped of its gold interior
by countless marauders. Farther north, near the Tiber,
is the tomb of Augustus.
From the Piazza Venezia the major artery Via Vittorio
Emmanuele leads by way of Largo Argentina
to the Tiber and ultimately to the Vatican. In the narrow
streets west of the Campidoglio are the Jewish ghetto(apartments
for rent listing) and its synagogue. The
district now has only a tiny fraction of Rome's prewar
Jewish population.
Trastevere
Across
the Tiber is the Trastevere, one of the most picturesque
quarters of Rome dating
from medieval times. It is an unpretentious area of
tenements, but it attracts today's Romani because of
its Latin quarter flavor. Romans go there to dine in
its inexpensive restaurants, some with tables on the
sidewalks, where they can listen to the music of roving
singers.
To the north, on the right bank of the Tiber, is the
Vatican, dominated by St. Peter's Basilica, the papal
residences, and its museums and gardens (see Vatican
City). Farther north along the river is
Castel Sant'Angelo, with its medieval turreted walls.
It dates from the Roman era and served
the popes during the Middle Ages as a fort and defensive
retreat. A passage leads to St. Peter's.
East of the Corso are some of the more fashionable streets
where tourists congregate.
A leading thoroughfare is the Via Condotti, with its
luxury boutiques. Elegant shops are also found
on Via Borgognona and Via Frattina. These all lead to
the Piazza di Spagna Fountain of the Barcaccia, where
Romani and foreigners (stranieri) love to sun themselves.
To the north is an artists' quarter centered on the
Via Margutta, famous for its art galleries, studios,
and boutiques.
The Piazza di Spagna, which at one time was the center
of Rome's English colony, and its
Spanish Embassy face the Spanish Steps (known as Scalinata
della Trinita dei Monti, or Scala di Spagna).
The double flight of 137 steps was built in 1721-25.
Next to the stairway is a baroque house,
now a museum, where the poet John Keats died in 1821.
The museum is also dedicated to his friend Percy Bysshe
Shelley. The summit is intersected by the Via Sistina,
which leads to the Via del Tritone, the Piazza Barberini,
and the tourist mecca Via Vittorio Veneto.
Via Veneto is an elegant treelined avenue whose sidewalk
cafes attract businessmen, movie stars,
high society, and wealthy foreigners. The S-shaped boulevard
is lined with luxury hotels, chic shops,
and on one block the buildings of the American Embassy
(formerly Palazzo Margherita). American citizens are
invited there to celebrate Independence Day (July 4).
At the north end of the Veneto lies the Aurelian Wall,
whose portal is the Porta Pinciana. It leads to the
Pincio and the Villa Borghese Gardens, one of the largest
open green spaces in Rome. In the park are a racetrack
(galoppatoio), zoo, and several museums. The Pincio,
which was laid out in 1809-14 on the Pincian Hill, overlooks
the Piazza del Popolo.
North of the Via Barberini, the location of several
international airline offices and luxury shops,
is a large square that leads to the Via XX Settembre.
This artery passes the defense ministries and the Quirinale,
Italy's presidential headquarters. Farther east is the
Via Nazionale, a major retail thoroughfare
that links the Piazza della Repubblica (formerly the
Esedra) to the Piazza Venezia.
A tunnel (galleria) off this street turns back to the
Via del Tritone. Among the more elegant
residential districts in the northern part of Rome are
Nomentana, Parioli, Monte Mario,
and Monte Sacro.
The Fountains of Rome
Most great cities have beautiful
fountains, but in Rome they are a living part of the
city. Italian poets have
immortalized them in verse. One of Italy's major composers,
Ottorino Respighi, enshrined them in two richly
descriptive symphonic poems. Books about Rome's fountains
published in Italian, French, and English have
contributed to their fame. The best known is Niccolo
Salvi's 18th-century Fountain of Trevi (see Fountain).
It is a tradition for visitors to cast small coins into
its churning waters, supposedly to ensure their eventual
return to Rome. The most imaginative fountain is probably
Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers.
Another by Bernini is the graceful Fountain of the Triton
on the Piazza Barberini.
In the Piazza della Repubblica is the colossal Fountain
of the Naiads.
Its voluptuous beauties wrestle with seaborne monsters;
some argue that they represent scenes of love.
The Fountain of the Barcaccia in the Piazza di Spagna
was designed like a leaking boat by Bernini's father,
Pietro.
One of the pleasures of a visit to Rome is a night tour
of the city's numerous illuminated fountains.
Museums, Galleries, and Churches
Some of the richest exhibits of
mosaics and household and religious objects of ancient
Rome are in the Capitoline Museum. Other museums include
the Palazzo Venezia, the national Museum of Rome, and
the Vatican Museum.
A museum that features Etruscan archaeological finds
is the Villa Giulia at the northwestern end of the Villa
Borghese.
Rome's great galleries include the Vatican, with its
Sistine Chapel and Pinacoteca; the Borghese Gallery,
with its Bernini sculptures and Antonio Canova's 'Pauline
Borghese' as well as a group of famous paintings; the
Doria-Pamphili Gallery, with an extraordinary collection
of paintings that includes works by Diego Velasquez,
Titian, and Caravaggio;
the National Gallery of Modern Art; and the 17th-century
Gallery of Ancient Art in the Palazzo Barberini,
a treasure-house of paintings dating back to the 14th
century. Great works by Fra Filippo Lippi, Raphael,
Titian, Tintoretto, El Greco, and Caravaggio make this
a remarkable collection.
Rome is the world's greatest Christian religious center.
Many of its more than 400 churches contain masterpieces.
There are seven pilgrimage basilicas: St. Peter's, St.
John Lateran, San Sebastiano, Santa Maria Maggiore,
St. Paul's Outside the Walls, Holy Cross in Jerusalem,
and St. Lawrence Outside the Walls. Other churches are
Santa Maria in Aracoeli; St. Peter in Chains, with Michelangelo's
sculpture 'Moses'; and the Gesu, the mother church of
the Jesuits.
Environs
Due south of the city is the E.U.R. (Universal
Exposition of Rome). Planned by Mussolini in 1935 as
a symbol of
fascism for a 1942 world's fair, it was only partially
completed and was damaged during World War II.
After 1952 the original buildings were restored and
new ones added. The E.U.R. complex contains stadiums,
artificial lakes, and formal gardens. The older buildings
are occupied by government ministeries.
There are also miniskyscrapers that house headquarters
of major private and semistate firms, hundreds
of villas, deluxe condominiums, and smaller budget
apartments. Nearby is the Sports Palace,
designed by Pier Luigi Nervi and Marcello Piacentini
for the 1960 Summer Olympics.
Another noteworthy zone is the Appian Way, or Via Appia
Antica, to the southeast on the way to the Castelli
Romani.
The Appian Way was built in 312 BC and was a key military
highway in ancient times. This marvel of Roman
engineering, built of basalt and stone, is 18 feet (5.5
meters) wide.
Imperial law forbade burial within built-up areas so
mausoleums were constructed on many of the roads.
Those on the Appian Way include the tombs of Hadrian,
Scipio, and supposedly Seneca. While most Romans were
cremated, early Christians believed in resurrection
and were embalmed and buried. Because of Roman persecution,
their burials took place underground in deep tunnels
called catacombs. The most notable are those of St.
Callixtus,
St. Sebastian, and Domitilla.
The English Cemetery draws numerous visitors. Inside
the graveyard there is a romantic enclave of cypress
trees,
marble angels, and sad inscriptions to noted foreigners
of the 19th century among them Keats and Shelley.
People
Greater Rome, according to the
1981 census, had only 5 percent of the nation's population.
In contrast, metropolitan London accounts for 21 percent
of the inhabitants of Great Britain, and greater Paris
holds roughly 17 percent of the French population.
A large share of those who live in Rome and its suburbs
are considered outsiders (forestieri). Italian sources
indicate that no more than 15 percent of the Romani
have lived for several generations in the capital. Some
forestieri originated in Frosinone and Latina, south
of Rome, but most came from the Mezzogiorno, or southern
mainland,
and the islands of Sicily and Sardinia.
Exploding on the city's margin but still within the
communal boundary are at least six large suburbs that
have large apartment
complexes rather than single-family dwellings. There
are still numerous shantytowns that have limited facilities:
sanitation is poor, indoor plumbing is rare; water is
obtained only from wells, and central heating is often
unavailable. The Romani commonly complain about gypsies
who illegally occupy unfurnished apartments,
but the legal processes to remove them are slow. Rome
too has the problem of the homeless.
Center of Education
Rome is noteworthy for its educational
resources. The University of Rome is located near Castro
Pretorio.
It was founded by Pope Boniface VIII on another site
in 1303. No longer controlled by the Roman Catholic
church,
it was greatly enlarged in the 1930s. There are more
than 120,000 students enrolled, many from foreign countries.
There are 12 faculties spread over the city, but the
chief cluster and administrative headquarters are in
Citta Universitaria (University City). A second campus,
built in the southern part of Rome, accommodates about
20,000 students, but overall facilities are still inadequate.
Rome's chief public hospital, the Policlinico, is nearby.
It is the finest teaching hospital in the city. The
national library is also in this district.
One of the chief specialized institutes is the American
Academy, founded in 1894 to offer studies in architecture
and allied arts for American students who have won the
Prix de Rome. Another is the American School of
Classical Studies. The French Academy serves gifted
young French artists.
The British School of Rome specializes in archaeological
studies. Belgium, Spain, Sweden, and Egypt all have
advanced architecture schools in Rome. One of the world's
oldest academies of fine arts, the Academy of St. Luke
is also in Rome. The Academy of St. Cecilia, patron
saint of music, is renowned throughout the Western world.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) is headquartered in Rome.
It collects and distributes data on world crops and
markets and also plays a major role in technical aid
to the less-developed world.
Economy
Before World War II Rome served
primarily as an administrative, religious, and tourist
center.
These functions persist, but there is now far greater
diversity.
Rome is not only the capital of Italy but the administrative
center of the five-province region called Lazio
and the seat of the province of Rome. Thus a major share
of its labor force is employed by municipal,
provincial, regional, and national authorities. They
are white-collar workers (impiegati). The city's major
religious attraction, the Vatican, has a minimal employment
base. Huge revenues are earned by the city's service
industries its hotels, pensions, bars, and restaurants
that cater mainly to tourists. Its fashionable stores
and boutiques are world-renowned, and there are many
handicraft workshops as in the past.
Rome is a key publishing center for books, magazines,
and newspapers, which include media of the various political
parties. The principal papers are the right-wing Il
Messaggero, the centrist La Repubblica, the leftist
Paese Sera,
and the Communist L'Unita. L'Osservatore Romano is the
chief publication of the Vatican.
Although there is no heavy industry or much large-scale
manufacturing, nearly 20 percent of the active labor
force are engaged in some branch of industry and the
share is growing. Allied with the construction industry
is the production of bricks, cement, glass, ceramics,
and wood products. There is also an increasing volume
of processed foods, textiles, and clothing. Light machinery,
particularly electronics, is significant, and high-technology
industries are a growing phenomenon. Petroleum refining
and petrochemical production with by-product facilities
are rapid-growth
sectors despite the absence of a modern port. Their
development is based on markets within the five-province
region, especially the city itself.
Transportation
Penetrating the maze of narrow,
winding streets are modern thoroughfares, some a result
of urban planning
during the pre-World War II fascist era. These commercial
streets include the Via del Corso, Via del Tritone,
Via Veneto, Via Barberini, Via Venti Settembre, Via
Nazionale, and the more residential Via Cavour. The
Piazza San Silvestro, Largo Argentina, and the railway
station Termini are the hubs of the city's bus system.
There are two subway (Metropolitana) lines. Parts of
the city core are closed to cars, and commercial vehicles
may enter this restricted zone only at preselected times.
There are too few legal parking spaces and garages so
that double and triple parking are common, contributing
to the vehicular chaos of central Rome.
Approximately 6 miles (10 kilometers) from the center,
there is a peripheral ring road known as the Raccordo
Annulare.
It is tied to the city's major internal arteries: Via
Cassia, Via Flaminia, Via Salaria, Via Nomentana, Via
Aurelia,
and Via Appia Nuova. Roads off the ring lead southwestward
to Ostia, Rome's Lido, and the country's major
international airport at Fiumcino (Leonardo da Vinci).
The alternative airport is Ciampino, a smaller and older
one
that is now a military airport and is used mainly for
charter flights. The superhighway Autostrada del Sole
ties
Rome to Florence, while yet another arm leads to Naples.
Roads also run to the Adriatic, particularly to the
port of Pescara, and to Castelli Romani, Castel Gandolfo
(the summer residence of the pope), and Tivoli, a tourist
paradise
on the site of the legendary Tibur.
History
After centuries of disunity following
the fall of the Roman Empire, Italy began to move toward
unification during
the first half of the 19th century. (For early history,
see Roman Empire). Despite the fall of Napoleon, France,
Austria, and Spain continued to support the papacy in
its control over Rome and the Papal States.
Nevertheless, there was a rebirth of revolutionary spirit
in Italy, particularly in Rome. Despite a relaxation
of controls by Pope Pius IX and the granting of a constitution,
the city had long been exposed to challenging new ideas,
and its population was ready to support leaders who
wished Rome to join a new unified state.
The first modern Italian revolution came to an abortive
end in 1848, but the desire for change persisted.
When Italy was finally unified through the efforts of
Camillo Cavour and Giuseppe Garibaldi in 1860, Rome
and
the Papal States remained subject to Pius. (See also
Cavour; Garibaldi; Pius.)
A decade later France was defeated by Prussia, and its
armies abandoned Italy. Italian forces marched into
Rome
in 1870, and the city again became Italy's capital.
Pius IX refused to accept the authority of the new government,
choosing instead to become a self-proclaimed "prisoner
in the Vatican." He and his successors remained
voluntary prisoners until the Concordat of 1929 with
Mussolini (see Mussolini). The new Lateran Treaty recognized
the
legal rights and independence of the papacy within Vatican
City and the summer residence of the pope at
Castel Gandolfo.
In 1871 King Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy and Piedmont
assumed the throne (see Victor Emmanuel).
The population of Rome was then about 212,000, with
the majority living in the Campus Martius section
of ancient Rome. The built-up area then occupied less
than one percent of the current communal area.
A considerable amount of building was carried out in
the city after 1871, and the occupied area was greatly
extended.
The municipal authorities gave maximum freedom to private
land speculators, and great fortunes were made.
There was major residential construction in the Prati
district, adjoining the Vatican, and a residential boom
in
the Salaria and Nomentana districts of northern Rome.
Beginning in about 1890 great villas were converted
into apartment blocks. The Villa Borghese survived as
one of the city's few open spaces. Parts of the old
city,
including the former Jewish ghetto, were redeveloped.
A new plan with regulated zoning was approved in 1909,
but its provisions could not be enforced because of
the swelling population of the city, which reached 519,000
by 1911.
After 1922 Mussolini made it his policy to enhance the
prestige of Rome. Extensive reconstruction was undertaken;
the ancient forums were excavated, and the Via dei Fori
Imperiali was built from the Piazza Venezia to the Colosseum
and the Via della Conciliazione to the Vatican. It was
during this period that Mussolini built the E.U.R. Another
project
of the fascist era was the straightening and dredging
of the Tiber with new embankments that essentially
eliminated the threat of flooding within the city. Another
achievement was the draining of malarial marshes.
In World War II Rome was declared an "open city";
thus it did not suffer significantly from aerial bombardment.
After the war there was a file explosion of construction
activity to accommodate the growing population.
Despite many new residential and commercial developments,
the city's population continued to outpace the supply.
Rome has all of the problems of major cities. Its infrastructure
(the provision of water, sewers, hospitals, and schools)
is grossly inadequate, particularly when the shanty
towns are considered. To all this must be added problems
of air pollution, traffic congestion, overcrowding,
and an inefficient road system linking the periphery
with the center.
There is only a minimal relationship between workplaces
and residences. The city is in constant debt and lacks
the ability to cope with its problems, which may be
more severe than those of any other metropolitan area
its size.
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