Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio,and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,705,317 residents,[3] an urban area of 3,457,690 as well as a metropolitan area of about 4 million inhabitants spread over a 5,352 km² area. It is located in the central-western portion of the Italian peninsula, on the Tiber river.
Rome's history as a city spans over two and a half thousand years, as one of the founding cities of Western Civilisation. Even outside of the history of the Roman Empire, Rome has a significant place in the story of Christianity up to the present day as the home of the Roman Catholic Church.
According to Roman tradition, the city was founded by the twins Romulus and Remus on 21 April 753 BC. Archaeological evidence supports the view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built in the area of the future Roman Forum. While some archaeologists argue that Rome was indeed founded in the middle of the 8th century BC, the date is subject to controversy.The original settlement developed into the capital of the Roman Kingdom and then the Roman Republic and finally the Roman Empire (from 27 BC, ruled by an Emperor). From its foundation Rome, although losing occasional battles, had been undefeated in war until 386 BC, when it was briefly occupied by the Gauls.
Roman dominance expanded over most of Europe and the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, while its population surpassed one million inhabitants. For almost a thousand years, Rome was the most politically important, richest, and largest city in the Western world, and remained so after the Empire started to decline and was split, even as it lost its capital status to Milan and then to Ravenna, and was surpassed in prestige by the Eastern capital Constantinople.
