How old is rome italy

The Republic, first situated in Rome expanded out to the rest of Italy and then to North Africa and the Mediterranean.

With the overwhelming difference between the rich and the poor, a new practice took place where the army was paid with gold. This resulted in soldiers no longer fighting for the republic, but rather for their generals. Julius Caesar, a military leader, took this opportunity and seized control, becoming dictator of Rome that dismantled the government. This is what initiated the beginning of the Roman Empire. The Empire is famous worldwide as one of the greatest civilisations in history.

Military spending was astronomical, which left little money for anything else in the empire. The loss in battles resulted in more soldiers being hired to maintain control over the land, with more and more money spent. But even with this higher investment, the number of battles loss grew and the control over lands lessened, causing more vulnerability particularly to the Western Empire.

However, Rhea was impregnated by the war god Mars and gave birth to Romulus and Remus. Amulius ordered the infants drowned in the Tiber, but they survived and washed ashore at the foot of the Palatine hill, where they were suckled by a she-wolf until they were found by the shepherd Faustulus. Reared by Faustulus and his wife, the twins later became leaders of a band of young shepherd warriors.

After learning their true identity, they attacked Alba Longa, killed the wicked Amulius, and restored their grandfather to the throne. The twins then decided to found a town on the site where they had been saved as infants.

They soon became involved in a petty quarrel, however, and Remus was slain by his brother. To populate his town, Romulus offered asylum to fugitives and exiles. Rome lacked women, however, so Romulus invited the neighboring Sabines to a festival and abducted their women.

A war then ensued, but the Sabine women intervened to prevent the Sabine men from seizing Rome. A peace treaty was drawn up, and the communities merged under the joint rule of Romulus and the Sabine king, Titus Tatius. After a long and successful rule, Romulus died under obscure circumstances. Many Romans believed he was changed into a god and worshipped him as the deity Quirinus. After Romulus, there were six more kings of Rome, the last three believed to be Etruscans.

Around B. Another Roman foundation legend, which has its origins in ancient Greece, tells of how the mythical Trojan Aeneas founded Lavinium and started a dynasty that would lead to the birth of Romulus and Remus several centuries later. In the Iliad, an epic Greek poem probably composed by Homer in the eighth century B. A passage told of how he and his descendants would rule the Trojans, but since there was no record of any such dynasty in Troy, Greek scholars proposed that Aeneas and his followers relocated.

Rome's lengthy history has led to a number of misconceptions, including the location where Julius Caesar was assassinated. Many believe that he was killed at the Curia Julia, the structure commissioned by Julius Caesar to house the senate. However, at the time of his death, the Curia Julia was not yet finished and the senate was meeting at the Curia of Pompey, which is where he was assassinated. Although the foundations of the Curia of Pompey have been excavated, most of the building's ruins are beneath a modern road and may never be revealed.

There is a long tradition of tossing a coin into the Trevi Fountain to ensure a return visit to Rome. Caritas sponsors a program that provides the needy with rechargeable cards to purchase groceries. Peter's Basilica was constructed over a year period ending in For more than years, it held the title of the world's largest church. At , square feet, it took the title from St.

Peter's Basilica, which has a total square footage of , Peter's Basilica, however, can accommodate more people — up to 60, versus 18, for the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro.

As Christians account for only about one-third of Cote d'Ivoire's population, services at the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro are seldom attended by more than a few hundred people. There are cities in the world that have a greater number of churches when you include mosques, temples and other houses of worship. However, Rome is home to more than Christian churches, which is currently more than any other city -- so if the crowds at St. Peter's Basilica are too much for visitors to deal with, there are many, many more from which to choose.

Some of these churches are even older than St. Peter's Basilica and are also historically significant. Considering that approximately 10 million people visit Rome each year — and as many as 20 million during a holy year — it does not appear that the city has too many churches!

Ancient Romans classified any religion that was not state-sanctioned and that had special rites that were only revealed to its members as a "mystery cult.

Well despite the numerous films saying this was a thing, there is no evidence that this ever happened. Christians were persecuted for several years, and although wild animal fights and hunts took place in the Colosseum and there were frequent executions of criminals, there is simply no proof of Christians facing wild lions as punishment for their faith. Many people think of spaghetti and meatballs as a signature Italian dish.

Visitors to Rome are often surprised that it is really difficult to find this dish on menus. Instead of pining for spaghetti and meatballs, try some authentic Italian pasta creations, such as bucatini all'amatriciana or spaghetti alla carbonara. Early pizzas had more in common with flatbreads, and the ancient Greeks were topping flatbreads with oils, cheese, herbs and garlic long before the recipe caught on in Rome.

Tomato-based sauces were not used; tomatoes were not introduced to Europe until after the explorers reached the New World, and for many years, tomatoes were believed to be poisonous. It is believed that the first tomato-based pizza sauce appeared sometime between the last half of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century.