daurangir
09-20-2007, 02:44 PM
Rome
Italian Roma historic city and capital of Roma provincia, of Lazio regione, and of Italy.
A capital of kingdoms and of republics and of an empire the armies and polity of which defined the Western world in antiquity and left seemingly indelible imprints thereafter, a city called eternal, as the spiritual and physical centre of the Roman Catholic Church, and a city whose name evokes major pinnacles of artistic and intellectual achievement, Rome has retained all of these attributes: the capital of Italy, a font of religious authority, and a memorial to the creative imagination of the past. Probably more than any other city in the West, possibly more than any other in the world, it is a city whose history continues to shape nearly every aspect of its being but, at the same time, whose contemporary consciousness of that history projects it into the very core of modern life.
For well over a millennium, Rome controlled the destiny of all civilization known to Europe, then fell into dissolution and disrepair. Physically mutilated, economically paralyzed, politically senile, and militarily impotent by the late Middle Ages, Rome nevertheless remained a world power—as an idea. The force of Rome the lawgiver, teacher, and builder continued to radiate throughout Europe. Although the situation of the popes from the 6th to the 15th century was often precarious—at times tragic, ridiculous, or shameful—Rome knew glory as the fountainhead of Christianity and eventually won back its power and wealth and reestablished itself as a place of beauty, a source of learning, and a capital of the arts.
Physical and human geography > The landscape > Location and layout
Rome is located in central Italy on the Tiber (Tevere) River, 15 miles (24 kilometres) inland from the Tyrrhenian Sea. The Roman countryside, the Campagna, was one of the last areas of central Italy to be settled in antiquity. The city was built on a defensible hill dominating the last downstream, high-banked river crossing where traverse was facilitated by a midstream island.
The city of the seven hills, of treasures and tourists, and of fountains and cupolas lies mostly within the old city walls. The so-called Servian Wall, built almost certainly 12 years after the Gauls' destruction of Rome in 390 BC, enclosed most of the Esquiline and Caelian hills and all the other five. It was built into ramparts that dated from the early republic or even the late kingdom. Although Rome grew beyond the Servian defenses, no new wall was constructed until Aurelian began building in brick-faced concrete in AD 270. Almost 12 miles long and girdling about four square miles (10 square kilometres), this is the wall that Italian troops had to breach to claim their capital in 1870, and it is still largely intact.
The ancient walled city of Rome embraces only 4 percent of the modern municipality's 582 square miles (1,507 square kilometres) and is the smallest of the city's 12 administrative zones. The walled centre is divided into 22 rioni (“districts”), the names of most dating from classical times, while surrounding it are 35 quartieri urbani (“urban sectors”) that began to be absorbed officially into the municipality after 1911. Within the city limits on the western and northwestern fringes are six large suburbi (“suburbs”), while beyond the municipal boundaries the commune of Rome about doubles the area of the city itself.
About six miles out from the centre of Rome, a belt highway describes a huge circle around the capital, tying together the antique roads that led from everywhere to Rome: the Via Flaminia, Via Aurelia, Via Appia. Masses of modern apartment buildings rise in the districts outside the centre, in which the small amount of contemporary construction is inconspicuous. Street frontages and show windows are often rebuilt to keep pace with the times, and the Romans succeed in harmonizing the new, the simply old, and the antique with a talent that they have demonstrated since the first extensions of the republican Forum were made under the emperors.
Small as it is, the old city contains some 300 hotels and 300 pensioni, more than 200 palaces, 20 churches, eight of the city's major parks, the residence of the Italian president, the houses of Parliament, offices of city and national government, and the great historical monuments, in addition to thousands of offices, workshops, restaurants, and bars. It is there that the millions of tourists seem to descend annually.
Italian Roma historic city and capital of Roma provincia, of Lazio regione, and of Italy.
A capital of kingdoms and of republics and of an empire the armies and polity of which defined the Western world in antiquity and left seemingly indelible imprints thereafter, a city called eternal, as the spiritual and physical centre of the Roman Catholic Church, and a city whose name evokes major pinnacles of artistic and intellectual achievement, Rome has retained all of these attributes: the capital of Italy, a font of religious authority, and a memorial to the creative imagination of the past. Probably more than any other city in the West, possibly more than any other in the world, it is a city whose history continues to shape nearly every aspect of its being but, at the same time, whose contemporary consciousness of that history projects it into the very core of modern life.
For well over a millennium, Rome controlled the destiny of all civilization known to Europe, then fell into dissolution and disrepair. Physically mutilated, economically paralyzed, politically senile, and militarily impotent by the late Middle Ages, Rome nevertheless remained a world power—as an idea. The force of Rome the lawgiver, teacher, and builder continued to radiate throughout Europe. Although the situation of the popes from the 6th to the 15th century was often precarious—at times tragic, ridiculous, or shameful—Rome knew glory as the fountainhead of Christianity and eventually won back its power and wealth and reestablished itself as a place of beauty, a source of learning, and a capital of the arts.
Physical and human geography > The landscape > Location and layout
Rome is located in central Italy on the Tiber (Tevere) River, 15 miles (24 kilometres) inland from the Tyrrhenian Sea. The Roman countryside, the Campagna, was one of the last areas of central Italy to be settled in antiquity. The city was built on a defensible hill dominating the last downstream, high-banked river crossing where traverse was facilitated by a midstream island.
The city of the seven hills, of treasures and tourists, and of fountains and cupolas lies mostly within the old city walls. The so-called Servian Wall, built almost certainly 12 years after the Gauls' destruction of Rome in 390 BC, enclosed most of the Esquiline and Caelian hills and all the other five. It was built into ramparts that dated from the early republic or even the late kingdom. Although Rome grew beyond the Servian defenses, no new wall was constructed until Aurelian began building in brick-faced concrete in AD 270. Almost 12 miles long and girdling about four square miles (10 square kilometres), this is the wall that Italian troops had to breach to claim their capital in 1870, and it is still largely intact.
The ancient walled city of Rome embraces only 4 percent of the modern municipality's 582 square miles (1,507 square kilometres) and is the smallest of the city's 12 administrative zones. The walled centre is divided into 22 rioni (“districts”), the names of most dating from classical times, while surrounding it are 35 quartieri urbani (“urban sectors”) that began to be absorbed officially into the municipality after 1911. Within the city limits on the western and northwestern fringes are six large suburbi (“suburbs”), while beyond the municipal boundaries the commune of Rome about doubles the area of the city itself.
About six miles out from the centre of Rome, a belt highway describes a huge circle around the capital, tying together the antique roads that led from everywhere to Rome: the Via Flaminia, Via Aurelia, Via Appia. Masses of modern apartment buildings rise in the districts outside the centre, in which the small amount of contemporary construction is inconspicuous. Street frontages and show windows are often rebuilt to keep pace with the times, and the Romans succeed in harmonizing the new, the simply old, and the antique with a talent that they have demonstrated since the first extensions of the republican Forum were made under the emperors.
Small as it is, the old city contains some 300 hotels and 300 pensioni, more than 200 palaces, 20 churches, eight of the city's major parks, the residence of the Italian president, the houses of Parliament, offices of city and national government, and the great historical monuments, in addition to thousands of offices, workshops, restaurants, and bars. It is there that the millions of tourists seem to descend annually.