Rome

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

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

Map of southern Europe highlighting Italy and marking the location of Rome with a star symbol. Surrounding countries and bodies of water, such as France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, and the Mediterranean Sea, are also labeled for geographical context.

Rome: Colosseum

Benito Mussolini in military uniform stands on a balcony, addressing a large crowd gathered below.

Antique map of Rome and its surroundings from around 1900, showing the city center, the winding Tiber River, major roads, and nearby towns and landmarks, with dense street patterns in central Rome and sparser rural areas beyond.

Rome; Vatican City

Detailed map of central Rome showing major roads, parks, neighborhoods, and landmarks, with green areas representing parks and gardens. Key sites such as the Colosseum, Vatican City, and the Roman Forum are labeled, along with the locations of the Seven Hills of Rome. An inset map at the bottom right shows Rome's location within the surrounding region of Italy.

Exploring the ancient Roman Appian Way

How an underground labyrinth threatens Rome's monuments

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

At a Glance

Roman Forum

Related Questions

Rome

Also known as: Roma

Written by

Richard R. RingAll

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 15, 2026 •History

Some 25 of the original parish churches, or tituli, the first legal churches in Rome, still function. Most had been private houses in which the Christians illegally congregated, and some of these houses, as at Santi Giovanni e Paolo, are still preserved underneath the present church buildings. Since the 4th century the tituli priests have been cardinals who, over the centuries, have rebuilt, enlarged, and embellished their churches. Some early Christian churches were centrally rather...

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