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Vatican City (/ˈvætɪkən/ ⓘ), officially the Vatican City State (Italian: Stato della Città del Vaticano;[f] Latin: Status Civitatis Vaticanae),[g][h] is a landlocked independent country,[16][17] city-state, microstate, and enclave within Rome, Italy.[18][19] It became independent from Italy in 1929 with the Lateran Treaty, and it is a distinct territory under "full ownership, exclusive dominion, and sovereign authority and jurisdiction" of the Holy See, itself a sovereign entity under international law, which maintains the city-state's temporal power and governance, diplomatic, and spiritual independence.[i][20] With an area of 49 hectares (121 acres)[c] and as of 2023 a population of about 764,[13] it is the smallest state in the world both by area and by population.[21] As governed by the Holy See, Vatican City State is an ecclesiastical or sacerdotal-monarchical state ruled by the Pope, who is the bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church.[6][22] The highest state functionaries are all Catholic clergy of various origins. After the Avignon Papacy (1309–1377) the popes have mainly resided at the Apostolic Palace within what is now Vatican City, although at times residing instead in the Quirinal Palace in Rome or elsewhere. The Vatican is also a metonym for the Holy See. The Holy See dates back to early Christianity and is the principal episcopal see of the Catholic Church, which has approximately 1.329 billion baptised Catholics in the world as of 2018 in the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches.[23] The independent state of Vatican City, on the other hand, came into existence on 11 February 1929 by the Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and Italy, which spoke of it as a new creation,[24] not as a vestige of the much larger Papal States (756–1870), which had previously encompassed much of Central Italy. Vatican City contains religious and cultural sites such as St. Peter's Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican Apostolic Library, and the Vatican Museums. They feature some of the world's most famous paintings and sculptures. The unique economy of Vatican City is supported financially by donations from the faithful, by the sale of postage stamps and souvenirs, fees for admission to museums, and sales of publications. Vatican City has no taxes and items are duty-free. Name The name Vatican City was first used in the Lateran Treaty, signed on 11 February 1929, which established the modern city-state named after Vatican Hill, the geographic location of the state within the city of Rome. "Vatican" is derived from the name of an Etruscan settlement, Vatica or Vaticum, located in the general area the Romans called Ager Vaticanus, "Vatican territory".[25] The Italian name of the city is Città del Vaticano or, more formally, Stato della Città del Vaticano, meaning 'Vatican City State'. Its Latin name is Status Civitatis Vaticanae;[26][27] this is used in official documents by the Holy See, the Church and the Pope. History Further information: History of the Papacy and Holy See § History Early history The Vatican Obelisk in St. Peter's Square was brought to Rome from Egypt by Caligula The name "Vatican" was already in use in the time of the Roman Republic for the Ager Vaticanus, a marshy area on the west bank of the Tiber across from the city of Rome, located between the Janiculum, the Vatican Hill and Monte Mario, down to the Aventine Hill and up to the confluence of the Cremera creek.[28] The toponym Ager Vaticanus is attested until the 1st century AD: afterwards, another toponym appeared, Vaticanus, denoting an area much more restricted: the Vatican Hill, today's St. Peter's Square, and possibly today's Via della Conciliazione.[28] Because of its vicinity to Rome's archenemy, the Etruscan city of Veii (another naming for the Ager Vaticanus was Ripa Veientana or Ripa Etrusca), and for being subjected to the floods of the Tiber, the Romans considered this originally uninhabited part of Rome dismal and ominous.[29] The particularly low quality of Vatican wine, even after the reclamation of the area, was commented on by the poet Martial (40 – between AD 102 and 104).[30] Tacitus wrote that in AD 69, the Year of the Four Emperors, when the northern army that brought Vitellius to power arrived in Rome, "a large proportion camped in the unhealthy districts of the Vatican, which resulted in many deaths among the common soldiery; and the Tiber being close by, the inability of the Gauls and Germans to bear the heat and the consequent greed with which they drank from the stream weakened their bodies, which were already an easy prey to disease".[31] An early interpretation of the relative locations of the circus, and the medieval and current Basilicas of St. Peter One possible modern interpretation[32] During the Roman Empire, many villas were constructed there, after Agrippina the Elder (14 BC–18 October AD 33) drained the area and laid out her gardens in the early 1st century AD. In AD 40, her son, Emperor Caligula (31 August AD 12–24 January AD 41; r. 37–41) built in her gardens a circus for charioteers (AD 40) that was later completed by Nero, the Circus Gaii et Neronis,[33] usually called, simply, the Circus of Nero.[34] The Vatican Obelisk in St. Peter's Square is the last visible remnant from the Circus of Nero. It was brought from Heliopolis in Egypt by Emperor Caligula. The obelisk originally stood at the centre of the spina (median) of the Roman circus.[35] The circus became the site of martyrdom for many Christians after the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64. Tradition states that it was in this circus that Saint Peter was crucified upside-down.[36] In 1586, the obelisk was relocated to its current position by Pope Sixtus V using a method devised by Italian architect Domenico Fontana.[37] Opposite the circus was a cemetery separated by the Via Cornelia. Funeral monuments and mausoleums, and small tombs, as well as altars to pagan gods of all kinds of polytheistic religions, were constructed lasting until before the construction of the Constantinian Basilica of St. Peter in the first half of the 4th century. A shrine dedicated to the Phrygian goddess Cybele and her consort Attis remained active long after the ancient Basilica of St. Peter was built nearby.[38] Remains of this ancient necropolis were brought to light sporadically during renovations by various popes throughout the centuries, increasing in frequency during the Renaissance until it was systematically excavated by orders of Pope Pius XII from 1939 to 1941. The Constantinian basilica was built in 326 over what was believed to be the tomb of Saint Peter, buried in that cemetery.[39] From then on, the area became more populated in connection with activity at the basilica. A palace was constructed nearby as early as the 5th century during the pontificate of Pope Symmachus (reigned 498–514).[40] Papal States Main article: Papal States See also: History of the Papacy The Italian peninsula in 1796. The Papal States in central Italy are coloured purple. Popes gradually came to have a secular role as governors of regions near Rome. They ruled the Papal States, which covered a large portion of the Italian peninsula, for more than a thousand years until the mid-19th century, when all the territory belonging to the papacy was seized by the newly created Kingdom of Italy. For most of this time, the popes did not live at the Vatican. The Lateran Palace, on the opposite side of Rome, was their habitual residence for about a thousand years. From 1309 to 1377, they lived at Avignon in France. On their return to Rome, they chose to live at the Vatican. They moved to the Quirinal Palace in 1583, after work on it was completed under Pope Paul V (1605–1621), but on the capture of Rome in 1870 retired to the Vatican, and what had been their residence became that of the King of Italy. Under Italian rule (1871–1929) Main article: Roman Question In 1870, the Pope's holdings were left in an uncertain situation when Rome itself was annexed by Italian forces, thus bringing to completion the Italian unification, after a nominal resistance by the papal forces. Between 1861 and 1929 the status of the Pope was referred to as the "Roman Question". Italy made no attempt to interfere with the Holy See within the Vatican walls. However, it confiscated church property in many places. In 1871, the Quirinal Palace was confiscated by the King of Italy and became the royal palace. Thereafter, the popes resided undisturbed within the Vatican walls, and certain papal prerogatives were recognised by the Law of Guarantees, including the right to send and receive ambassadors. But the Popes did not recognise the Italian king's right to rule in Rome, and they refused to leave the Vatican compound until the dispute was resolved in 1929; Pope Pius IX (1846–1878), the last ruler of the Papal States, was referred to as a "prisoner in the Vatican". Forced to give up secular power, the popes focused on spiritual issues.[41] Lateran treaties Main article: Lateran Treaty This situation was resolved on 11 February 1929, when the Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy was signed by Prime Minister and Head of Government Benito Mussolini on behalf of King Victor Emmanuel III and by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Gasparri for Pope Pius XI.[24][20][42] The treaty, which became effective on 7 June 1929, established the independent state of Vatican City and reaffirmed the special status of Catholic Christianity in Italy.[43] World War II Main article: Vatican City in World War II Bands of the British army's 38th Brigade playing in front of St Peter's Basilica, June 1944 The Holy See, which ruled Vatican City, pursued a policy of neutrality during World War II, under the leadership of Pope Pius XII. Although German troops occupied the city of Rome after the September 1943 Armistice of Cassibile, and the Allies from 1944, they respected Vatican City as neutral territory.[44] One of the main diplomatic priorities of the bishop of Rome was to prevent the bombing of the city; so sensitive was the pontiff that he protested even the British air dropping of pamphlets over Rome, claiming that the few landing within the city-state violated the Vatican's neutrality.[45] The British policy, as expressed in the minutes of a Cabinet meeting, was: "that we should on no account molest the Vatican City, but that our action as regards the rest of Rome would depend upon how far the Italian government observed the rules of war".[45] After the US entered into the war, the US opposed such a bombing, fearful of offending Catholic members of its military forces, but said that "they could not stop the British from bombing Rome if the British so decided". The US military even exempted Catholic pilots and crew from air raids on Rome and other Church holdings, unless voluntarily agreed upon. Notably, with the exception of Rome, and presumably the possibility of the Vatican, no Catholic US pilot or air crew refused a mission within German-held Italy. The British uncompromisingly said "they would bomb Rome whenever the needs of the war demanded".[46] In December 1942, the UK's envoy suggested to the Holy See that Rome be declared an "open city", a suggestion that the Holy See took more seriously than was probably meant by the UK, who did not want Rome to be an open city, but Mussolini rejected the suggestion when the Holy See put it to him. In connection with the Allied invasion of Sicily, 500 US aircraft bombed Rome on 19 July 1943, aiming particularly at the railway hub. Some 1,500 people were killed. Pius XII, who had been described in the previous month as "worried sick" about the possible bombing, viewed the aftermath. Another raid took place on 13 August 1943, after Mussolini had been ousted from power.[47] On the following day, the new government declared Rome an open city, after consulting the Holy See on the wording of the declaration, but the UK had decided that they would never recognise Rome as an open city.[48] Post-war history View of St. Peter's Square from the top of Michelangelo's dome Pius XII had refrained from creating cardinals during the war. By the end of World War II, there were several prominent vacancies: Cardinal Secretary of State, Camerlengo, Chancellor, and Prefect for the Congregation for the Religious among them.[49] Pius XII created 32 cardinals in early 1946, having announced his intention to do so in his preceding Christmas message. The Pontifical Military Corps, except for the Swiss Guard, was disbanded by the will of Paul VI, as expressed in a letter of 14 September 1970.[50] The Gendarmerie Corps was transformed into a civilian police and security force. In 1984, a new concordat between the Holy See and Italy modified certain provisions of the earlier treaty, including the position of Catholic Christianity as the Italian state religion, a position given to it by a statute of the Kingdom of Sardinia of 1848.[43] Construction in 1995 of a new guest house, Domus Sanctae Marthae, adjacent to St Peter's Basilica was criticised by Italian environmental groups, backed by Italian politicians. They claimed the new building would block views of the Basilica from nearby Italian apartments.[51] For a short while the plans strained the relations between the Vatican and the Italian government. The head of the Vatican's Department of Technical Services robustly rejected challenges to the Vatican State's right to build within its borders.[51] John R. Morss writes in the European Journal of International Law that due to the terms of the Lateran Treaty, Vatican City's status as a sovereign state, and the Pope's status as a head of state, are problematic.[clarification needed][52] Geography This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Vatican City" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Main article: Geography of Vatican City Map of Vatican City, highlighting notable buildings and the Vatican gardens The name "Vatican" was already in use in the time of the Roman Republic for the Ager Vaticanus, a marshy area on the west bank of the Tiber across from the city of Rome, located between the Janiculum, the Vatican Hill and Monte Mario, down to the Aventine Hill and up to the confluence of the Cremera creek.[28] The territory of Vatican City is part of the Vatican Hill, and of the adjacent former Vatican Fields. It is in this territory that St. Peter's Basilica, the Apostolic Palace, the Sistine Chapel, and museums were built, along with various other buildings. The area was part of the Roman rione of Borgo until 1929. Being separated from the city, on the west bank of the river Tiber, the area was an outcrop of the city that was protected by being included within the walls of Leo IV (847–855), and later expanded by the current fortification walls, built under Paul III (1534–1549), Pius IV (1559–1565), and Urban VIII (1623–1644).[53] Territory of Vatican City State according to the Lateran Treaty When the Lateran Treaty of 1929 that gave the state its form was being prepared, the boundaries of the proposed territory were influenced by the fact that much of it was all but enclosed by this loop. For some tracts of the frontier, there was no wall, but the line of certain buildings supplied part of the boundary, and for a small part of the frontier a modern wall was constructed.[54] The territory includes St. Peter's Square, distinguished from the territory of Italy only by a white line along the limit of the square, where it touches Piazza Pio XII. St. Peter's Square is reached through the Via della Conciliazione which runs from close to the Tiber to St. Peter's. This grand approach was constructed by Benito Mussolini after the conclusion of the Lateran Treaty. According to the Lateran Treaty, certain properties of the Holy See that are located in Italian territory, most notably the Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo and the major basilicas, enjoy extraterritorial status similar to that of foreign embassies.[55][56] These properties, scattered all over Rome and Italy, house essential offices and institutions necessary to the character and mission of the Holy See.[56] Castel Gandolfo and the named basilicas are patrolled internally by police agents of Vatican City State and not by Italian police. According to the Lateran Treaty (Art. 3) St. Peter's Square, up to but not including the steps leading to the basilica, is normally patrolled by the Italian police.[55] There are no passport controls for visitors entering Vatican City from the surrounding Italian territory. There is free public access to Saint Peter's Square and Basilica and, on the occasion of papal general audiences, to the hall in which they are held. For these audiences and for major ceremonies in Saint Peter's Basilica and Square, tickets free of charge must be obtained beforehand. The Vatican Museums, incorporating the Sistine Chapel, usually charge an entrance fee. There is no general public access to the gardens, but guided tours for small groups can be arranged to the gardens and excavations under the basilica. Other places are open to only those individuals who have business to transact there.[57] St. Peter's Square, the basilica and obelisk, from Piazza Pio XII St. Peter's Square, the basilica and obelisk, from Piazza Pio XII Climate Vatican City's climate is the same as Rome's: a temperate, Mediterranean climate Csa with mild, rainy winters from October to mid-May and hot, dry summers from May to September. Some minor local features, principally mists and dews, are caused by the anomalous bulk of St Peter's Basilica, the elevation, the fountains, and the size of the large paved square. The highest temperature ever recorded was 40.8 °C (105.4 °F), on 28 June 2022.[58] Climate data for Vatican City (data of Aeroporto Roma-Ciampino "Giovan Battista Pastine") Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high °C (°F) 19.8 (67.6) 21.2 (70.2) 26.6 (79.9) 27.2 (81.0) 33.0 (91.4) 37.8 (100.0) 40.8 (105.4) 40.7 (105.3) 38.4 (101.1) 30.0 (86.0) 25.0 (77.0) 20.2 (68.4) 40.8 (105.4) Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 11.9 (53.4) 13.0 (55.4) 15.2 (59.4) 17.7 (63.9) 22.8 (73.0) 26.9 (80.4) 30.3 (86.5) 30.6 (87.1) 26.5 (79.7) 21.4 (70.5) 15.9 (60.6) 12.6 (54.7) 20.4 (68.7) Daily mean °C (°F) 7.5 (45.5) 8.2 (46.8) 10.2 (50.4) 12.6 (54.7) 17.2 (63.0) 21.1 (70.0) 24.1 (75.4) 24.5 (76.1) 20.8 (69.4) 16.4 (61.5) 11.4 (52.5) 8.4 (47.1) 15.2 (59.4) Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 3.1 (37.6) 3.5 (38.3) 5.2 (41.4) 7.5 (45.5) 11.6 (52.9) 15.3 (59.5) 18.0 (64.4) 18.3 (64.9) 15.2 (59.4) 11.3 (52.3) 6.9 (44.4) 4.2 (39.6) 10.0 (50.0) Record low °C (°F) −11.0 (12.2) −4.4 (24.1) −5.6 (21.9) 0.0 (32.0) 3.8 (38.8) 7.8 (46.0) 10.6 (51.1) 10.0 (50.0) 5.6 (42.1) 0.8 (33.4) −5.2 (22.6) −4.8 (23.4) −11.0 (12.2) Average precipitation mm (inches) 67 (2.6) 73 (2.9) 58 (2.3) 81 (3.2) 53 (2.1) 34 (1.3) 19 (0.7) 37 (1.5) 73 (2.9) 113 (4.4) 115 (4.5) 81 (3.2) 804 (31.7) Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) 7.0 7.6 7.6 9.2 6.2 4.3 2.1 3.3 6.2 8.2 9.7 8.0 79.4 Mean monthly sunshine hours 120.9 132.8 167.4 201.0 263.5 285.0 331.7 297.6 237.0 195.3 129.0 111.6 2,472.8 Source: https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/noaa-earth-had-its-third-warmest-year-record-2017 https://weatherspark.com/h/y/71896/2022/Historical-Weather-during-2022-in-Vatican-City In July 2007, the Vatican accepted a proposal by two firms based respectively in San Francisco and Budapest,[61] whereby it would become the first carbon neutral state by offsetting its carbon dioxide emissions with the creation of a Vatican Climate Forest in Hungary,[62] as a purely symbolic gesture[63] to encourage Catholics to do more to safeguard the planet.[64] Nothing came of the project.[65][66] On 26 November 2008, the Vatican itself put into effect a plan announced in May 2007 to cover the roof of the Paul VI Audience Hall with solar panels.[67][68] Gardens Main article: Gardens of Vatican City Within the territory of Vatican City are the Vatican Gardens (Italian: Giardini Vaticani),[69] which account for about half of this territory. The gardens, established during the Renaissance and Baroque era, are decorated with fountains and sculptures. The gardens cover approximately 23 hectares (57 acres). The highest point is 60 metres (197 ft) above mean sea level. Stone walls bound the area in the north, south, and west. The gardens date back to medieval times when orchards and vineyards extended to the north of the Papal Apostolic Palace.[70] In 1279, Pope Nicholas III (Giovanni Gaetano Orsini, 1277–1280) moved his residence back to the Vatican from the Lateran Palace and enclosed this area with walls.[71] He planted an orchard (pomerium), a lawn (pratellum), and a garden (viridarium).[71] A panorama of gardens and several buildings viewed from St. Peter's Basilica Panorama of the gardens viewed from St. Peter's Basilica Governance Main article: Politics of Vatican City The politics of Vatican City takes place in the context of an absolute elective monarchy, in which the head of the Catholic Church holds power. The Pope exercises principal legislative, executive, and judicial power over the State of Vatican City (an entity distinct from the Holy See), which is a rare case of a non-hereditary monarchy. State and Holy See Vatican City State, created in 1929 by the Lateran Pacts, provides the Holy See with a temporal jurisdiction and independence within a small territory. It is distinct from the Holy See. The state can thus be deemed a significant but not essential instrument of the Holy See. The Holy See itself has existed continuously as a juridical entity since Roman Imperial times and has been internationally recognised as a powerful and independent sovereign entity since Late Antiquity to the present, without interruption even at times when it was deprived of territory (e.g. 1870 to 1929). Vatican City is one of the few widely recognised independent states that has not become a member of the United Nations.[72] The Holy See, which is distinct from Vatican City State, has permanent observer status, with all the rights of a full member except for a vote in the UN General Assembly. Structure Pope Francis in Vatican City, 2021 The government of Vatican City has a unique structure. The Pope is the sovereign of the state, while legislative authority is vested in the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, a body of cardinals appointed by the Pope for five-year periods. Executive power is in the hands of the president of that commission, assisted by the general secretary and deputy general secretary. The state's foreign relations are entrusted to the Holy See's Secretariat of State and diplomatic service. Nevertheless, the Pope has absolute power in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches over Vatican City,[73] and is thus the only absolute monarch in Europe.[74] Operationally, there are departments that deal with health, security, telecommunications and other matters.[73] Sede vacante The Cardinal Camerlengo presides over the Apostolic Camera, to which is entrusted the administration of the property and protection of other papal temporal powers and rights of the Holy See during the period of the empty throne or sede vacante (papal vacancy).[75] Those of the Vatican State remain under the control of the Pontifical Commission for the State of Vatican City. Acting with three other cardinals chosen by lot every three days, one from each order of cardinals (cardinal bishop, cardinal priest, and cardinal deacon), he in a sense performs during that period the functions of head of state of Vatican City.[76] All the decisions these four cardinals take must be approved by the College of Cardinals as a whole. Papal nobility Main article: Papal nobility The nobility that was closely associated with the Holy See at the time of the Papal States continued to be associated with the Papal Court after the loss of these territories, generally with merely nominal duties (see Papal Master of the Horse, Prefecture of the Pontifical Household, Hereditary officers of the Roman Curia, Black Nobility). They also formed the ceremonial Noble Guard. In the first decades of the existence of the Vatican City State, executive functions were entrusted to some of them, including that of delegate for the State of Vatican City (now denominated president of the Commission for Vatican City). But with the motu proprio Pontificalis Domus of 28 March 1968,[77] Pope Paul VI abolished the honorary positions that had continued to exist until then, such as Quartermaster general and Master of the Horse.[78] Head of state and government Main articles: Pope and President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State See also: List of Sovereigns of the Vatican City State The Apostolic Palace (Palazzo Apostolico), the official residence of the Pope. Here, Benedict XVI is at the window marked by a maroon banner hanging from the windowsill at centre. The Pope is ex officio head of state[79] of Vatican City, a function dependent on his primordial function as bishop of the diocese of Rome and head of the Catholic Church.[80] The term "Holy See" refers not to the Vatican state but to the Pope's spiritual and pastoral governance, largely exercised through the Roman Curia.[81] His official title with regard to Vatican City is Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City. Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was elected on 13 March 2013. His principal subordinate government official for Vatican City as well as the country's head of government is the President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, who since 1952 exercises the functions previously belonging to the Governor of Vatican City. Since 2001, the president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State also has the title of president of the Governorate of the State of Vatican City. The president is Spanish Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, who was appointed on 1 October 2021. Administration Main article: Law of Vatican City Palace of the Governorate of Vatican City State Legislative functions are delegated to the unicameral Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, led by the President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State. Its seven members are cardinals appointed by the Pope for terms of five years. Acts of the commission must be approved by the Pope, through the Holy See's Secretariat of State, and before taking effect must be published in a special appendix of the Acta Apostolicae Sedis. Most of the content of this appendix consists of routine executive decrees, such as approval for a new set of postage stamps. Executive authority is delegated to the Governorate of Vatican City. The Governorate consists of the President of the Pontifical Commission—using the title "President of the Governorate of Vatican City"—a general secretary, and a Vice general secretary, each appointed by the Pope for five-year terms. Important actions of the Governorate must be confirmed by the Pontifical Commission and by the Pope through the Secretariat of State. The Governorate oversees the central governmental functions through several departments and offices. The directors and officials of these offices are appointed by the Pope for five-year terms. These organs concentrate on material questions concerning the state's territory, including local security, records, transportation, and finances. The Governorate oversees a modern security and police corps, the Corpo della Gendarmeria dello Stato della Città del Vaticano. Judicial functions are delegated to a supreme court, an appellate court, a tribunal (Tribunal of Vatican City State), and a trial judge. At the Vatican's request, sentences imposed can be served in Italy (see the section on crime, below). The international postal country code prefix is SCV, and the only postal code is 00120 – altogether SCV-00120.[82] Defence and security Main articles: Military in Vatican City, Pontifical Swiss Guard, Corps of Gendarmerie of Vatican City, and Corps of Firefighters of the Vatican City State A guard of the Vatican at his sentry box As Vatican City is an enclave within Italy, its military defence is provided by the Italian Armed Forces. However, there is no formal defence treaty with Italy, as Vatican City is a neutral state. Vatican City has no armed forces of its own, although the Swiss Guard is a military corps of the Holy See responsible for the personal security of the Pope, and residents in the state. Soldiers of the Swiss Guard are entitled to hold Vatican City State passports and nationality. Swiss mercenaries were historically recruited by Popes as part of an army for the Papal States, and the Pontifical Swiss Guard was founded by Pope Julius II on 22 January 1506 as the Pope's personal bodyguard and continues to fulfill that function. It is listed in the Annuario Pontificio under "Holy See", not under "State of Vatican City". At the end of 2005, the Guard had 134 members. Recruitment is arranged by a special agreement between the Holy See and Switzerland. All recruits must be Catholic, unmarried males with Swiss citizenship who have completed their basic training with the Swiss Armed Forces with certificates of good conduct, be between the ages of 19 and 30, and be at least 174 cm (5 ft 9 in) in height. Members are equipped with small arms and the traditional halberd (also called the Swiss voulge), and trained in bodyguarding tactics. The Palatine Guard and the Noble Guard, the last armed forces of the Vatican City State, were disbanded by Pope Paul VI in 1970.[50] As Vatican City has listed every building in its territory on the International Register of Cultural Property under Special Protection, the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict theoretically renders it immune to armed attack.[83] Gendarmerie car Civil defence is the responsibility of the Corps of Firefighters of the Vatican City State, the national fire brigade. Dating its origins to the early nineteenth century, the Corps in its present form was established in 1941. It is responsible for fire fighting, as well as a range of civil defence scenarios including flood, natural disaster, and mass casualty management. The Corps is governmentally supervised through the Directorate for Security Services and Civil Defence, which is also responsible for the Gendarmerie (see below). The Gendarmerie Corps (Corpo della Gendarmeria) is the gendarmerie, or police and security force, of Vatican City and the extraterritorial properties of the Holy See.[84] The corps is responsible for security, public order, border control, traffic control, criminal investigation, and other general police duties in Vatican City including providing security for the Pope outside of Vatican City. The corps has 130 personnel and is a part of the Directorate for Security Services and Civil Defence (which also includes the Vatican Fire Brigade), an organ of the Governorate of Vatican City.[85][86] Crime Main article: Crime in Vatican City The crowds of tourists in St. Peter's Square are a target for pickpockets. Crime in Vatican City consists largely of purse snatching, pickpocketing and shoplifting by outsiders.[87] The tourist foot-traffic in St. Peter's Square is one of the main locations for pickpockets in Vatican City.[88] If crimes are committed in Saint Peter's Square, the perpetrators may be arrested and tried by the Italian authorities, since that area is normally patrolled by Italian police.[89] Under the terms of article 22 of the Lateran Treaty,[90] Italy will, at the request of the Holy See, punish individuals for crimes committed within Vatican City and will itself proceed against the person who committed the offence, if that person takes refuge in Italian territory. Persons accused of crimes recognised as such both in Italy and in Vatican City that are committed in Italian territory will be handed over to the Italian authorities if they take refuge in Vatican City or in buildings that enjoy immunity under the treaty.[90][91] Vatican City has no prison system, apart from a few detention cells for pre-trial detention.[92] People convicted of committing crimes in the Vatican serve terms in Italian prisons (Polizia Penitenziaria), with costs covered by the Vatican.[93] Foreign relations See also: Foreign relations of the Holy See and List of diplomatic missions of the Holy See The Ingresso di Sant'Anna, an entrance to Vatican City from Italy Vatican City State is a recognised national territory under international law, but it is the Holy See that conducts diplomatic relations on its behalf, in addition to the Holy See's own diplomacy, entering into international agreements in its regard. Vatican City thus has no diplomatic service of its own. Because of space limitations, Vatican City is one of the few countries in the world that is unable to host embassies. Foreign embassies to the Holy See are located in the city of Rome; only during the Second World War were the staff of some embassies accredited to the Holy See given what hospitality was possible within the narrow confines of Vatican City—embassies such as that of the United Kingdom while Rome was held by the Axis Powers and Germany's when the Allies controlled Rome. The size of Vatican City is thus unrelated to the large global reach exercised by the Holy See as an entity quite distinct from the state.[94] However, Vatican City State itself participates in some international organizations whose functions relate to the state as a geographical entity, distinct from the non-territorial legal persona of the Holy See. These organizations are much less numerous than those in which the Holy See participates either as a member or with observer status. They include the following eight, in each of which Vatican City State holds membership:[95][96] European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) European Telecommunications Satellite Organization (Eutelsat IGO) International Grains Council (IGC) International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS) International Telecommunication Union (ITU) International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (ITSO) Interpol[97] Universal Postal Union (UPU) It also participates in:[95] World Medical Association World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Non-party, non-signatory policy The Vatican City is not a member of the United Nations (UN), but was granted observer status to the United Nations General Assembly in 1968; the only other country in a similar position is the partially recognised State of Palestine. Since it is not a member of the UN, the Vatican City is not subjected to the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). It does, however, engage with various UN specialised agencies through its observer status including the Central Emergency Response Fund, to which it contributed US$20,000 between 2006 and 2022.[98] The Vatican City State is not a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC). In Europe, only Belarus is also a non-party, non-signatory state, while Ukraine and Monaco are signatory states that have not ratified and Russia withdrew from it in 2016. The Vatican City State is not a member of the European Court of Human Rights. Among European states, Belarus is also not a member, while Russia has ceased to be part of it after being expelled from the Council of Europe following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The OECD's "Common Reporting Standard" (CRS), aiming at preventing tax evasion and money laundering, has also not been signed.[99][100][101] The Vatican City State has been criticised for money laundering practises in the past decades.[102][103][104] The only other country in Europe that has not agreed to sign the CRS is Belarus. The Vatican City State is also one of few countries in the world that does not provide any publicly available financial data to the International Monetary Fund.[105] Economy Main article: Economy of Vatican City The Vatican City State budget includes the Vatican Museums and post office and is supported financially by the sale of stamps, coins, medals and tourist mementos; by fees for admission to museums; and by publications sales.[j] The incomes and living standards of lay workers are comparable to those of counterparts who work in the city of Rome.[106] Other industries include printing, the production of mosaics, and the manufacture of staff uniforms. There is a Vatican Pharmacy. Vatican Museums' "New Wing", built by Raffaele Stern (1774–1820) The Institute for Works of Religion (IOR, Istituto per le Opere di Religione), also known as the Vatican Bank, is a financial agency situated in the Vatican that conducts worldwide financial activities. It has multilingual ATMs with instructions in Latin, possibly the only ATM in the world with this feature.[107] Vatican City issues its own coins and stamps. It has used the euro as its currency since 1 January 1999, owing to a special agreement with the European Union (council decision 1999/98/EC). Euro coins and notes were introduced on 1 January 2002—the Vatican does not issue euro banknotes. Issuance of euro-denominated coins is strictly limited by treaty, though somewhat more than usual is allowed in a year in which there is a change in the papacy.[108] Because of their rarity, Vatican euro coins are highly sought by collectors.[109] Until the adoption of the Euro, Vatican coinage and stamps were denominated in their own Vatican lira currency, which was on par with the Italian lira. Vatican City State, which employs nearly 2,000 people, had a surplus of 6.7 million euros in 2007 but ran a deficit in 2008 of over 15 million euros.[110] In 2012, the US Department of State's International Narcotics Control Strategy Report listed Vatican City for the first time among the nations of concern for money-laundering, placing it in the middle category, which includes countries such as Ireland, but not among the most vulnerable countries, which include the United States itself, Germany, Italy, and Russia.[111] On 24 February 2014, the Vatican announced it was establishing a secretariat for the economy, to be responsible for all economic, financial, and administrative activities of the Holy See and the Vatican City State, headed by Cardinal George Pell. This followed the charging of two senior clerics including a monsignor with money laundering offences. Pope Francis also appointed an auditor-general authorised to carry out random audits of any agency at any time and engaged a US financial services company to review the Vatican's 19,000 accounts to ensure compliance with international money laundering practices. The pontiff also ordered that the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See would be the Vatican's central bank, with responsibilities similar to other central banks around the world.[112] In 2022, the Vatican planned to release NFTs of its museum collection.[113] Demographics See also: Women in Vatican City As of 2023, Vatican City had a population of 764 residents, regardless of citizenship.[13] There were also 372 Vatican citizens residing elsewhere,[13] consisting of diplomats of the Holy See to other countries and cardinals residing in Rome.[114] The population is composed of clergy, other religious members, laypeople serving the state (such as the Swiss Guard) and their family members.[115] In 2013 there were 13 families of the employees of the Holy See living in Vatican City,[116] in 2019 there were 20 children of the Swiss Guards living at the Vatican.[117] All citizens, residents and places of worship in the city are Catholic. The city also receives thousands of tourists and workers every day. Vatican City population on 26 June 2023[13] Sex all Citizenship Vatican other Residency other Vatican City Pope 1 Cardinals 55 9 Diplomats 317 Swiss Guard 104 Others 132 518 Total 618 518 372 246 764 1,136    Vatican City population on 1 March 2011[115] Sex all male female Citizenship Vatican other Vatican other Vatican other Residency other Vatican City other Vatican City other Vatican City Pope 1 1 Cardinals 43 30 43 30 Diplomats 306 306 Swiss Guard 86 86 Other religious 50 197 49 102 1 95 Other lay 56 24 25 3 31 21 Total 572 221 540 105 32 116 349 223 349 191 32 444 296 148 793 645 148 Languages Further information: Languages of Vatican City The Seal of Vatican City. Note the use of the Italian language. Vatican City has no formally enacted official language, but, unlike the Holy See which most often uses Latin for the authoritative version of its official documents, Vatican City uses only Italian in its legislation and official communications.[118] Italian is also the everyday language used by most of those who work in the state. In the Swiss Guard, Swiss German is the language used for giving commands, but the individual guards take their oath of loyalty in their own languages: German, French, Italian or Romansh. The official websites of the Holy See[119] and of Vatican City[120] are primarily in Italian, with versions of their pages in a large number of languages to varying extents. Citizenship Unlike citizenship of other states, which is based either on jus sanguinis (birth from a citizen, even outside the state's territory) or on jus soli (birth within the territory of the state), citizenship of Vatican City is granted on jus officii, namely on the grounds of appointment to work in a certain capacity in the service of the Holy See. It usually ceases upon cessation of the appointment. Citizenship is also extended to the spouse and children of a citizen, provided they are living together in the city.[114] Some individuals are also authorized to reside in the city but do not qualify or choose not to request citizenship.[114] Anyone who loses Vatican citizenship and does not possess other citizenship automatically becomes an Italian citizen as provided in the Lateran Treaty.[55] The Holy See, not being a country, issues only diplomatic and service passports, whereas Vatican City issues normal passports for its citizens. Statistical oddities In statistics comparing countries in various per capita or per area metrics, Vatican City is often an outlier—these can stem from the state's small size and ecclesiastical function.[121] For example, as most of the roles which would confer citizenship are reserved for men, the gender ratio of the citizenship is several men per woman.[122] Further oddities are petty crimes against tourists resulting in a very high per-capita crime rate,[123] and the city-state leading the world in per-capita wine consumption due to its sacramental use.[121] A jocular illustration of these anomalies is sometimes made by calculating a "Popes per km2" statistic, which is greater than two because the country is less than half a square kilometre in area.[124] 360-degree view from the dome of St. Peter's Basilica, looking over the Vatican's Saint Peter's Square (centre) and out into Rome, showing Vatican City in all directions 360-degree view from the dome of St. Peter's Basilica, looking over the Vatican's Saint Peter's Square (centre) and out into Rome, showing Vatican City in all directions Culture Main article: Culture of Vatican City See also: Music of Vatican City and Sport in Vatican City The Vatican Museums (Musei Vaticani) display works from the extensive collection of the Catholic Church. Vatican City is home to some of the most famous art in the world. St. Peter's Basilica, whose successive architects include Bramante, Michelangelo, Giacomo della Porta, Maderno and Bernini, is a renowned work of Renaissance architecture. The Sistine Chapel is famous for its frescos, which include works by Perugino, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Botticelli as well as the ceiling and Last Judgment by Michelangelo. Artists who decorated the interiors of the Vatican include Raphael and Fra Angelico. The Vatican Apostolic Library and the collections of the Vatican Museums are of the highest historical, scientific and cultural importance.[125] In 1984, the Vatican was added by UNESCO to the List of World Heritage Sites; it is the only one to consist of an entire state.[126] Furthermore, it is the only site to date registered with the UNESCO as a centre containing monuments in the "International Register of Cultural Property under Special Protection" according to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.[126] Football in Vatican City is organized by the Vatican Amateur Sports Association, which holds the national championship, called the Vatican City Championship, with eight teams, including, for example, the Swiss Guard's FC Guardia and police and museum guard teams.[127] The association also organizes the Coppa Sergio Valci and the Vatican Supercoppa. It controls the Vatican City national football team, which is neither affiliated with UEFA or FIFA. Infrastructure Transport Main article: Transport in Vatican City The shortest national railway system in the world Vatican City has a reasonably well-developed transport network considering its size (consisting mostly of a piazza and walkways). As a state that is 1.05 kilometres (1,150 yards) long and 0.85 km (930 yd) wide,[128] it has a small transportation system with no airports or highways. The only aviation facility in Vatican City is the Vatican City Heliport. Vatican City is one of the few independent countries without an airport, and is served by the airports that serve the city of Rome, Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport and to a lesser extent Ciampino Airport.[129] There is a standard gauge railway, mainly used to transport freight, connected to Italy's network at Rome's Saint Peter's station by an 852-metre-long (932 yd) spur, 300 metres (330 yd) of which is within Vatican territory.[129] Pope John XXIII was the first Pope to make use of the railway; Pope John Paul II rarely used it.[129] The closest metro station is Ottaviano – San Pietro – Musei Vaticani.[130] Communications The Vatican's post office was established on 11 February 1929. The City is served by an independent, modern telephone system named the Vatican Telephone Service,[131] and a postal system (Poste Vaticane) that started operating on 13 February 1929. On 1 August, the state started to release its own postal stamps, under the authority of the Philatelic and Numismatic Office of the Vatican City State.[132] The city's postal service is sometimes said to be "the best in the world",[133] and faster than the postal service in Rome.[133] The Vatican also controls its own Internet top-level domain, which is registered as (.va). Broadband service is widely provided within Vatican City. Vatican City has also been given a radio ITU prefix, HV, and this is sometimes used by amateur radio operators. Vatican Radio, which was organised by Guglielmo Marconi, broadcasts on short-wave, medium-wave and FM frequencies and on the Internet.[134] Its main transmission antennae are located in Italian territory, and exceed Italian environmental protection levels of emission. For this reason, the Vatican Radio has been sued. Television services are provided through another entity, the Vatican Television Center.[135] L'Osservatore Romano is the multilingual semi-official newspaper of the Holy See. It is published by a private corporation under the direction of Catholic laymen, but reports on official information. However, the official texts of documents are in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, the official gazette of the Holy See, which has an appendix for documents of the Vatican City State. Vatican Radio, the Vatican Television Center, and L'Osservatore Romano are organs not of the Vatican State but of the Holy See, and are listed as such in the Annuario Pontificio, which places them in the section "Institutions linked with the Holy See", ahead of the sections on the Holy See's diplomatic service abroad and the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, after which is placed the section on the State of Vatican City. Recycling In 2008, the Vatican began an "ecological island" for renewable waste and has continued the initiative throughout the papacy of Francis. These innovations included, for example, the installation of a solar power system on the roof of the Paul VI Audience Hall. In July 2019, it was announced that Vatican City would ban the use and sale of single-use plastics as soon as its supply was depleted, well before the 2021 deadline established by the European Union. It is estimated that 50–55% of Vatican City's municipal solid waste is properly sorted and recycled, with the goal of reaching the EU standard of 70–75%.[136] See also flag Vatican City portal flag Italy portal Cities portal Architecture of Vatican City Holy city Index of Vatican City-related articles Law of Vatican City News.va Outline of Vatican City References Rome (Italian and Latin: Roma [ˈroːma] ⓘ) is the capital city of Italy. It is also the capital of the Lazio region, the centre of the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, and a special comune (municipality) named Comune di Roma Capitale. With 2,860,009 residents in 1,285 km2 (496.1 sq mi),[2] Rome is the country's most populated comune and the third most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. The Metropolitan City of Rome, with a population of 4,355,725 residents, is the most populous metropolitan city in Italy.[3] Its metropolitan area is the third-most populous within Italy.[5] Rome is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio (Latium), along the shores of the Tiber. Vatican City (the smallest country in the world)[6] is an independent country inside the city boundaries of Rome, the only existing example of a country within a city. Rome is often referred to as the City of Seven Hills due to its geographic location, and also as the "Eternal City".[7] Rome is generally considered to be the cradle of Western civilization and Western Christian culture, and the centre of the Catholic Church.[8][9][10] Rome's history spans 28 centuries. While Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it a major human settlement for almost three millennia and one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in Europe.[11] The city's early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans, and Sabines. Eventually, the city successively became the capital of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, and is regarded by many as the first-ever Imperial city and metropolis.[12] It was first called The Eternal City (Latin: Urbs Aeterna; Italian: La Città Eterna) by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy.[13][14] Rome is also called "Caput Mundi" (Capital of the World). After the fall of the Empire in the west, which marked the beginning of the Middle Ages, Rome slowly fell under the political control of the Papacy, and in the 8th century, it became the capital of the Papal States, which lasted until 1870. Beginning with the Renaissance, almost all popes since Nicholas V (1447–1455) pursued a coherent architectural and urban programme over four hundred years, aimed at making the city the artistic and cultural centre of the world.[15] In this way, Rome first became one of the major centres of the Renaissance[16] and then became the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism. Famous artists, painters, sculptors, and architects made Rome the centre of their activity, creating masterpieces throughout the city. In 1871, Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, which, in 1946, became the Italian Republic. In 2019, Rome was the 14th most visited city in the world, with 8.6 million tourists, the third most visited city in the European Union, and the most popular tourist destination in Italy.[17] Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.[18] The host city for the 1960 Summer Olympics, Rome is also the seat of several specialised agencies of the United Nations, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The city also hosts the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean[19] (UfM) as well as the headquarters of many multinational companies, such as Eni, Enel, TIM, Leonardo, and banks such as BNL. Numerous companies are based within Rome's EUR business district, such as the luxury fashion house Fendi located in the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana. The presence of renowned international brands in the city has made Rome an important centre of fashion and design, and the Cinecittà Studios have been the set of many Academy Award–winning movies.[20] Name and symbol Etymology According to the Ancient Romans' founding myth,[21] the name Roma came from the city's founder and first king, Romulus.[1] However, it is possible that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself.[22] As early as the 4th century, there have been alternative theories proposed on the origin of the name Roma. Several hypotheses have been advanced focusing on its linguistic roots which however remain uncertain:[23] From Rumon or Rumen, archaic name of the Tiber, which in turn is supposedly related to the Greek verb ῥέω (rhéō) 'to flow, stream' and the Latin verb ruō 'to hurry, rush';[b] From the Etruscan word 𐌓𐌖𐌌𐌀 (ruma), whose root is *rum- "teat", with possible reference either to the totem wolf that adopted and suckled the cognately named twins Romulus and Remus, or to the shape of the Palatine and Aventine Hills; From the Greek word ῥώμη (rhṓmē), which means strength.[c] Other names and symbols Rome has also been called in ancient times simply "Urbs" (central city),[24] from urbs roma, or identified with its ancient Roman initialism of SPQR, the symbol of Rome's constituted republican government. Furthermore Rome has been called Urbs Aeterna (The Eternal City), Caput Mundi (The Capital of the world), Throne of St. Peter and Roma Capitale. History Main article: History of Rome For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Rome. Earliest history Main article: Founding of Rome Historical States Roman Kingdom 753–509 BC Roman Republic 509–27 BC Roman Empire 27 BC– 395 AD Western Roman Empire 286–476 Kingdom of Italy 476–493 Ostrogothic Kingdom 493–536  Eastern Roman Empire 536–546 Ostrogothic Kingdom 546–547  Eastern Roman Empire 547–549 Ostrogothic Kingdom 549–552  Eastern Roman Empire 552–751 Kingdom of the Lombards 751–756  Papal States 756–1798  Roman Republic 1798–1799  Papal States 1799–1809  First French Empire 1809–1814  Papal States 1814–1849  Roman Republic 1849  Papal States 1849–1870  Kingdom of Italy 1870–1943  Italian Social Republic 1943–1944  Kingdom of Italy 1944–1946  Italian Republic 1946–present Model of archaic Rome. The image faces northeast, with the Capitoline hill on left and the Palatine on right. The city would not have looked like this prior to the seventh century BC. While there have been discoveries of archaeological evidence of human occupation of the Rome area from approximately 14,000 years ago, the dense layer of much younger debris obscures Palaeolithic and Neolithic sites.[11] Evidence of stone tools, pottery, and stone weapons attest to about 10,000 years of human presence. Several excavations support the view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman Forum. Between the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age, each hill between the sea and the Capitoline Hill was topped by a village (on the Capitoline, a village is attested since the end of the 14th century BC).[25] However, none of them yet had an urban quality.[25] Nowadays, there is a wide consensus that the city developed gradually through the aggregation ("synoecism") of several villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine.[25] This aggregation was facilitated by the increase of agricultural productivity above the subsistence level, which also allowed the establishment of secondary and tertiary activities. These, in turn, boosted the development of trade with the Greek colonies of southern Italy (mainly Ischia and Cumae).[25] These developments, which according to archaeological evidence took place during the mid-eighth century BC, can be considered as the "birth" of the city.[25] Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome was founded deliberately in the middle of the eighth century BC, as the legend of Romulus suggests, remains a fringe hypothesis.[26] Legend of the founding of Rome Main articles: Romulus and Remus and Romulus Capitoline Wolf, a sculpture of the mythical she-wolf suckling the infant twins Romulus and Remus Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth. The most familiar of these myths, and perhaps the most famous of all Roman myths, is the story of Romulus and Remus, the twins who were suckled by a she-wolf.[21] They decided to build a city, but after an argument, Romulus killed his brother and the city took his name. According to the Roman annalists, this happened on 21 April 753 BC.[27] This legend had to be reconciled with a dual tradition, set earlier in time, that had the Trojan refugee Aeneas escape to Italy and found the line of Romans through his son Iulus, the namesake of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.[28] This was accomplished by the Roman poet Virgil in the first century BC. In addition, Strabo mentions an older story, that the city was an Arcadian colony founded by Evander. Strabo also writes that Lucius Coelius Antipater believed that Rome was founded by Greeks.[29][30] Monarchy and republic Main articles: Ancient Rome, Roman Kingdom, and Roman Republic The Temple of Portunus, god of grain storage, keys, livestock and ports,[31] built between 120 and 80 BC The Roman Forum contains the ruins of the buildings that represented the political, legal, religious and economic centre of ancient Rome, constituting the "nerve centre" of all Roman civilisation.[32] After the foundation by Romulus according to a legend,[27] Rome was ruled for a period of 244 years by a monarchical system, initially with sovereigns of Latin and Sabine origin, later by Etruscan kings. The tradition handed down seven kings: Romulus, Numa Pompilius, Tullus Hostilius, Ancus Marcius, Tarquinius Priscus, Servius Tullius and Lucius Tarquinius Superbus.[27] In 509 BC, the Romans expelled the last king from their city and established an oligarchic republic. Rome then began a period characterised by internal struggles between patricians (aristocrats) and plebeians (small landowners), and by constant warfare against the populations of central Italy: Etruscans, Latins, Volsci, Aequi, and Marsi.[33] After becoming master of Latium, Rome led several wars (against the Gauls, Osci-Samnites and the Greek colony of Taranto, allied with Pyrrhus, king of Epirus) whose result was the conquest of the Italian peninsula, from the central area up to Magna Graecia.[34] The third and second century BC saw the establishment of Roman hegemony over the Mediterranean and the Balkans, through the three Punic Wars (264–146 BC) fought against the city of Carthage and the three Macedonian Wars (212–168 BC) against Macedonia.[35] The first Roman provinces were established at this time: Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, Hispania, Macedonia, Achaea and Africa.[36] From the beginning of the 2nd century BC, power was contested between two groups of aristocrats: the optimates, representing the conservative part of the Senate, and the populares, which relied on the help of the plebs (urban lower class) to gain power. In the same period, the bankruptcy of the small farmers and the establishment of large slave estates caused large-scale migration to the city. The continuous warfare led to the establishment of a professional army, which turned out to be more loyal to its generals than to the republic. Because of this, in the second half of the second century and during the first century BC there were conflicts both abroad and internally: after the failed attempt of social reform of the populares Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus,[37] and the war against Jugurtha,[37] there was a civil war from which the general Sulla emerged victorious.[37] A major slave revolt under Spartacus followed,[38] and then the establishment of the first Triumvirate with Caesar, Pompey and Crassus.[38] The conquest of Gaul made Caesar immensely powerful and popular, which led to a second civil war against the Senate and Pompey. After his victory, Caesar established himself as dictator for life.[38] His assassination led to a second Triumvirate among Octavian (Caesar's grandnephew and heir), Mark Antony and Lepidus, and to another civil war between Octavian and Antony.[39] Empire Main article: Roman Empire The Ancient-Imperial-Roman palaces of the Palatine, a series of palaces located in the Palatine Hill, express power and wealth of emperors from Augustus until the 4th century. The Imperial fora belong to a series of monumental fora (public squares) constructed in Rome by the emperors. Also seen in the image is Trajan's Market. Model of Imperial Rome at the Museo della civiltà romana in Rome. The Temple of Claudius is situated to the south (left) of the Colosseum. In 27 BC, Octavian became princeps civitatis and took the title of Augustus, founding the principate, a diarchy between the princeps and the senate.[39] During the reign of Nero, two thirds of the city was ruined after the Great Fire of Rome, and the persecution of Christians commenced.[40][41][42] Rome was established as a de facto empire, which reached its greatest expansion in the second century under the Emperor Trajan. Rome was confirmed as caput Mundi, i.e. the capital of the known world, an expression which had already been used in the Republican period. During its first two centuries, the empire was ruled by emperors of the Julio-Claudian,[43] Flavian (who also built an eponymous amphitheatre, known as the Colosseum),[43] and Antonine dynasties.[44] This time was also characterised by the spread of the Christian religion, preached by Jesus Christ in Judea in the first half of the first century (under Tiberius) and popularised by his apostles through the empire and beyond.[45] The Antonine age is considered the zenith of the Empire, whose territory ranged from the Atlantic Ocean to the Euphrates and from Britain to Egypt.[44] Colosseum at night After the end of the Severan Dynasty in 235, the Empire entered into a 50-year period known as the Crisis of the Third Century during which there were numerous putsches by generals, who sought to secure the region of the empire they were entrusted with due to the weakness of central authority in Rome. There was the so-called Gallic Empire from 260 to 274 and the revolts of Zenobia and her father from the mid-260s which sought to fend off Persian incursions. Some regions – Britain, Spain, and North Africa – were hardly affected. Instability caused economic deterioration, and there was a rapid rise in inflation as the government debased the currency in order to meet expenses. The Germanic tribes along the Rhine and north of the Balkans made serious, uncoordinated incursions from the 250s–280s that were more like giant raiding parties rather than attempts to settle. The Persian Empire invaded from the east several times during the 230s to 260s but were eventually defeated.[46] Emperor Diocletian (284) undertook the restoration of the State. He ended the Principate and introduced the Tetrarchy which sought to increase state power. The most marked feature was the unprecedented intervention of the State down to the city level: whereas the State had submitted a tax demand to a city and allowed it to allocate the charges, from his reign the State did this down to the village level. In a vain attempt to control inflation, he imposed price controls which did not last. He or Constantine regionalised the administration of the empire which fundamentally changed the way it was governed by creating regional dioceses (the consensus seems to have shifted from 297 to 313/14 as the date of creation due to the argument of Constantin Zuckerman in 2002 "Sur la liste de Vérone et la province de Grande-Arménie, Mélanges Gilber Dagron). The existence of regional fiscal units from 286 served as the model for this unprecedented innovation. The emperor quickened the process of removing military command from governors. Henceforth, civilian administration and military command would be separate. He gave governors more fiscal duties and placed them in charge of the army logistical support system as an attempt to control it by removing the support system from its control. Diocletian ruled the eastern half, residing in Nicomedia. In 296, he elevated Maximian to Augustus of the western half, where he ruled mostly from Mediolanum when not on the move.[46] In 292, he created two 'junior' emperors, the Caesars, one for each Augustus, Constantius for Britain, Gaul, and Spain whose seat of power was in Trier and Galerius in Sirmium in the Balkans. The appointment of a Caesar was not unknown: Diocletian tried to turn into a system of non-dynastic succession. Upon abdication in 305, the Caesars succeeded and they, in turn, appointed two colleagues for themselves.[46] After the abdication of Diocletian and Maximian in 305 and a series of civil wars between rival claimants to imperial power, during the years 306–313, the Tetrarchy was abandoned. Constantine the Great undertook a major reform of the bureaucracy, not by changing the structure but by rationalising the competencies of the several ministries during the years 325–330, after he defeated Licinius, emperor in the East, at the end of 324. The so-called Edict of Milan of 313, actually a fragment of a letter from Licinius to the governors of the eastern provinces, granted freedom of worship to everyone, including Christians, and ordered the restoration of confiscated church properties upon petition to the newly created vicars of dioceses. He funded the building of several churches and allowed clergy to act as arbitrators in civil suits (a measure that did not outlast him but which was restored in part much later). He transformed the town of Byzantium into his new residence, which, however, was not officially anything more than an imperial residence like Milan or Trier or Nicomedia until given a city prefect in May 359 by Constantius II; Constantinople.[47] Christianity in the form of the Nicene Creed became the official religion of the empire in 380, via the Edict of Thessalonica issued in the name of three emperors – Gratian, Valentinian II, and Theodosius I – with Theodosius clearly the driving force behind it. He was the last emperor of a unified empire: after his death in 395, his sons, Arcadius and Honorius divided the empire into a western and an eastern part. The seat of government in the Western Roman Empire was transferred to Ravenna in 408, but from 450 the emperors mostly resided in the capital city, Rome.[48] The Visigoths sacking Rome in 410, by Joseph-Noël Sylvestre (1890), the first time in c. 800 years that Rome had fallen to a foreign enemy Rome, which had lost its central role in the administration of the empire, was sacked in 410 by the Visigoths led by Alaric I,[49] but very little physical damage was done, most of which was repaired. What could not be so easily replaced were portable items such as artwork in precious metals and items for domestic use (loot). The popes embellished the city with large basilicas, such as Santa Maria Maggiore (with the collaboration of the emperors). The population of the city had fallen from 800,000 to 450–500,000 by the time the city was sacked in 455 by Genseric, king of the Vandals.[50] The weak emperors of the fifth century could not stop the decay, leading to the deposition of Romulus Augustus on 22 August 476, which marked the end of the Western Roman Empire and, for many historians, the beginning of the Middle Ages.[47] The decline of the city's population was caused by the loss of grain shipments from North Africa, from 440 onward, and the unwillingness of the senatorial class to maintain donations to support a population that was too large for the resources available. Even so, strenuous efforts were made to maintain the monumental centre, the palatine, and the largest baths, which continued to function until the Gothic siege of 537. The large baths of Constantine on the Quirinale were even repaired in 443, and the extent of the damage exaggerated and dramatised.[51] However, the city gave an appearance overall of shabbiness and decay because of the large abandoned areas due to population decline. The population declined to 500,000 by 452 and 100,000 by 500 AD (perhaps larger, though no certain figure can be known). After the Gothic siege of 537, the population dropped to 30,000 but had risen to 90,000 by the papacy of Gregory the Great.[52] The population decline coincided with the general collapse of urban life in the West in the fifth and sixth centuries, with few exceptions. Subsidized state grain distributions to the poorer members of society continued right through the sixth century and probably prevented the population from falling further.[53] The figure of 450,000–500,000 is based on the amount of pork, 3,629,000 lbs. distributed to poorer Romans during five winter months at the rate of five Roman lbs per person per month, enough for 145,000 persons or 1/4 or 1/3 of the total population.[54] Grain distribution to 80,000 ticket holders at the same time suggests 400,000 (Augustus set the number at 200,000 or one-fifth of the population). Middle Ages Further information: Fall of the Western Roman Empire The Vandals sacking Rome in 455, by Karl Briullov (1830s) After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD, Rome was first under the control of Odoacer and then became part of the Ostrogothic Kingdom before returning to East Roman control after the Gothic War, which devastated the city in 546 and 550. Its population declined from more than a million in 210 AD to 500,000 in 273[55] to 35,000 after the Gothic War (535–554),[56] reducing the sprawling city to groups of inhabited buildings interspersed among large areas of ruins, vegetation, vineyards and market gardens.[57] It is generally thought the population of the city until 300 AD was 1 million (estimates range from 2 million to 750,000) declining to 750–800,000 in 400 AD, 450–500,000 in 450 AD and down to 80–100,000 in 500 AD (though it may have been twice this).[58] The Bishop of Rome, called the Pope, was important since the early days of Christianity because of the martyrdom of both the apostles Peter and Paul there. The Bishops of Rome were also seen (and still are seen by Catholics) as the successors of Peter, who is considered the first Bishop of Rome. The city thus became of increasing importance as the centre of the Catholic Church. After the Lombard invasion of Italy (569–572), the city remained nominally Byzantine, but in reality, the popes pursued a policy of equilibrium between the Byzantines, the Franks, and the Lombards.[59] In 729, the Lombard king Liutprand donated the north Latium town of Sutri to the Church, starting its temporal power.[59] In 756, Pepin the Short, after having defeated the Lombards, gave the Pope temporal jurisdiction over the Roman Duchy and the Exarchate of Ravenna, thus creating the Papal States.[59] Since this period, three powers tried to rule the city: the pope, the nobility (together with the chiefs of militias, the judges, the Senate and the populace), and the Frankish king, as king of the Lombards, patricius, and Emperor.[59] These three parties (theocratic, republican, and imperial) were a characteristic of Roman life during the entire Middle Ages.[59] On Christmas night of 800, Charlemagne was crowned in Rome as emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by Pope Leo III: on that occasion, the city hosted for the first time the two powers whose struggle for control was to be a constant of the Middle Ages.[59] Detail from an illustration by Raphael, portraying the crowning of Charlemagne in Old Saint Peter's Basilica, on 25 December 800 In 846, Muslim Arabs unsuccessfully stormed the city's walls, but managed to loot St. Peter's and St. Paul's basilica, both outside the city wall.[60] After the decay of Carolingian power, Rome fell prey to feudal chaos: several noble families fought against the pope, the emperor, and each other. These were the times of Theodora and her daughter Marozia, concubines and mothers of several popes, and of Crescentius, a powerful feudal lord, who fought against the Emperors Otto II and Otto III.[61] The scandals of this period forced the papacy to reform itself: the election of the pope was reserved to the cardinals, and reform of the clergy was attempted. The driving force behind this renewal was the monk Ildebrando da Soana, who once elected pope under the name of Gregory VII became involved into the Investiture Controversy against Emperor Henry IV.[61] Subsequently, Rome was sacked and burned by the Normans under Robert Guiscard who had entered the city in support of the Pope, then besieged in Castel Sant'Angelo.[61] During this period, the city was autonomously ruled by a senatore or patrizio. In the 12th century, this administration, like other European cities, evolved into the commune, a new form of social organisation controlled by the new wealthy classes.[61] Pope Lucius II fought against the Roman commune, and the struggle was continued by his successor Pope Eugenius III: by this stage, the commune, allied with the aristocracy, was supported by Arnaldo da Brescia, a monk who was a religious and social reformer.[62] After the pope's death, Arnaldo was taken prisoner by Adrianus IV, which marked the end of the commune's autonomy.[62] Under Pope Innocent III, whose reign marked the apogee of the papacy, the commune liquidated the senate, and replaced it with a Senatore, who was subject to the pope.[62] In this period, the papacy played a role of secular importance in Western Europe, often acting as arbitrators between Christian monarchs and exercising additional political powers.[63][64][65] In 1266, Charles of Anjou, who was heading south to fight the Hohenstaufen on behalf of the pope, was appointed Senator. Charles founded the Sapienza, the university of Rome.[62] In that period the pope died, and the cardinals, summoned in Viterbo, could not agree on his successor. This angered the people of the city, who then unroofed the building where they met and imprisoned them until they had nominated the new pope; this marked the birth of the conclave.[62] In this period the city was also shattered by continuous fights between the aristocratic families: Annibaldi, Caetani, Colonna, Orsini, Conti, nested in their fortresses built above ancient Roman edifices, fought each other to control the papacy.[62] Pope Gregory XI returned to Rome in 1376 and ended the Avignon Papacy. Pope Boniface VIII, born Caetani, was the last pope to fight for the church's universal domain; he proclaimed a crusade against the Colonna family and, in 1300, called for the first Jubilee of Christianity, which brought millions of pilgrims to Rome.[62] However, his hopes were crushed by the French king Philip the Fair, who took him prisoner and killed him in Anagni.[62] Afterwards, a new pope faithful to the French was elected, and the papacy was briefly relocated to Avignon (1309–1377).[66] During this period Rome was neglected, until a plebeian man, Cola di Rienzo, came to power.[66] An idealist and a lover of ancient Rome, Cola dreamed about a rebirth of the Roman Empire: after assuming power with the title of Tribuno, his reforms were rejected by the populace.[66] Forced to flee, Cola returned as part of the entourage of Cardinal Albornoz, who was charged with restoring the Church's power in Italy.[66] Back in power for a short time, Cola was soon lynched by the populace, and Albornoz took possession of the city. In 1377, Rome became the seat of the papacy again under Gregory XI.[66] The return of the pope to Rome in that year unleashed the Western Schism (1377–1418), and for the next forty years, the city was affected by the divisions which rocked the Church.[66] Early modern history Main article: Roman Renaissance Almost 500 years old, this map of Rome by Mario Cartaro (from 1575) shows the city's primary monuments. Castel Sant'Angelo, or Hadrian's Mausoleum, is a Roman monument radically altered in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, built in 134 AD and crowned with 16th and 17th-century statues. Fontana della Barcaccia, created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in 1629 In 1418, the Council of Constance settled the Western Schism, and a Roman pope, Martin V, was elected.[66] This brought to Rome a century of internal peace, which marked the beginning of the Renaissance.[66] The ruling popes until the first half of the 16th century, from Nicholas V, founder of the Vatican Library, to Pius II, humanist and literate, from Sixtus IV, a warrior pope, to Alexander VI, immoral and nepotist, from Julius II, soldier and patron, to Leo X, who gave his name to this period ("the century of Leo X"), all devoted their energy to the greatness and the beauty of the Eternal City and to the patronage of the arts.[66] During those years, the centre of the Italian Renaissance moved to Rome from Florence. Majestic works, as the new Saint Peter's Basilica, the Sistine Chapel and Ponte Sisto (the first bridge to be built across the Tiber since antiquity, although on Roman foundations) were created. To accomplish that, the Popes engaged the best artists of the time, including Michelangelo, Perugino, Raphael, Ghirlandaio, Luca Signorelli, Botticelli, and Cosimo Rosselli. The period was also infamous for papal corruption, with many Popes fathering children, and engaging in nepotism and simony. The corruption of the Popes and the huge expenses for their building projects led, in part, to the Reformation and, in turn, the Counter-Reformation. Under extravagant and rich popes, Rome was transformed into a centre of art, poetry, music, literature, education and culture. Rome became able to compete with other major European cities of the time in terms of wealth, grandeur, the arts, learning and architecture. The Renaissance period changed the face of Rome dramatically, with works like the Pietà by Michelangelo and the frescoes of the Borgia Apartments. Rome reached the highest point of splendour under Pope Julius II (1503–1513) and his successors Leo X and Clement VII, both members of the Medici family. Carnival in Rome, c. 1650, by Johannes Lingelbach A View of the Piazza Navona, Rome, by Hendrik Frans van Lint, c. 1730 In this twenty-year period, Rome became one of the greatest centres of art in the world. The old St. Peter's Basilica built by Emperor Constantine the Great[67] (which by then was in a dilapidated state) was demolished and a new one begun. The city hosted artists like Ghirlandaio, Perugino, Botticelli and Bramante, who built the temple of San Pietro in Montorio and planned a great project to renovate the Vatican. Raphael, who in Rome became one of the most famous painters of Italy, created frescoes in the Villa Farnesina, the Raphael's Rooms, plus many other famous paintings. Michelangelo started the decoration of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and executed the famous statue of the Moses for the tomb of Julius II. Its economy was rich, with the presence of several Tuscan bankers, including Agostino Chigi, who was a friend of Raphael and a patron of arts. Before his early death, Raphael also promoted for the first time the preservation of the ancient ruins. The War of the League of Cognac caused the first plunder of the city in more than five hundred years since the previous sack; in 1527, the Landsknechts of Emperor Charles V sacked the city, bringing an abrupt end to the golden age of the Renaissance in Rome.[66] Beginning with the Council of Trent in 1545, the Church began the Counter-Reformation in response to the Reformation, a large-scale questioning of the Church's authority on spiritual matters and governmental affairs. This loss of confidence led to major shifts of power away from the Church.[66] Under the popes from Pius IV to Sixtus V, Rome became the centre of a reformed Catholicism and saw the building of new monuments which celebrated the papacy.[68] The popes and cardinals of the 17th and early 18th centuries continued the movement by having the city's landscape enriched with baroque buildings.[68] This was another nepotistic age; the new aristocratic families (Barberini, Pamphili, Chigi, Rospigliosi, Altieri, Odescalchi) were protected by their respective popes, who built huge baroque buildings for their relatives.[68] During the Age of Enlightenment, new ideas reached the Eternal City, where the papacy supported archaeological studies and improved the people's welfare.[66] But not everything went well for the Church during the Counter-Reformation. There were setbacks in the attempts to assert the Church's power, a notable example being in 1773 when Pope Clement XIV was forced by secular powers to have the Jesuit order suppressed.[66] Late modern and contemporary Bersaglieri troops breaching the Aurelian Walls at Porta Pia during the Capture of Rome (1870), the final event of the Italian unification. Painting by Carlo Ademollo. The rule of the Popes was interrupted by the short-lived Roman Republic (1798–1800), which was established under the influence of the French Revolution. The Papal States were restored in June 1800, but during Napoleon's reign Rome was annexed as a Département of the French Empire: first as Département du Tibre (1808–1810) and then as Département Rome (1810–1814). After the fall of Napoleon, the Papal States were reconstituted by a decision of the Congress of Vienna of 1814. In 1849, a second Roman Republic was proclaimed during a year of revolutions in 1848. Two of the most influential figures of the Italian unification, Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi, fought for the short-lived republic. Rome then became the focus of hopes of Italian reunification after the rest of Italy was united as the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 with the temporary capital in Florence. That year Rome was declared the capital of Italy even though it was still under the Pope's control. During the 1860s, the last vestiges of the Papal States were under French protection thanks to the foreign policy of Napoleon III. French troops were stationed in the region under Papal control. In 1870 the French troops were withdrawn due to the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War. Italian troops were able to capture Rome entering the city through a breach near Porta Pia. Pope Pius IX declared himself a prisoner in the Vatican. In 1871 the capital of Italy was moved from Florence to Rome.[69] In 1870 the population of the city was 212,000, all of whom lived with the area circumscribed by the ancient city, and in 1920, the population was 660,000. A significant portion lived outside the walls in the north and across the Tiber in the Vatican area. Bombardment of Rome by Allied planes, 1943 Soon after World War I in late 1922 Rome witnessed the rise of Italian Fascism led by Benito Mussolini, who led a march on the city. He did away with democracy by 1926, eventually declaring a new Italian Empire and allying Italy with Nazi Germany in 1938. Mussolini demolished fairly large parts of the city centre in order to build wide avenues and squares which were supposed to celebrate the fascist regime and the resurgence and glorification of classical Rome.[70] The interwar period saw a rapid growth in the city's population which surpassed one million inhabitants soon after 1930. During World War II, due to the art treasuries and the presence of the Vatican, Rome largely escaped the tragic destiny of other European cities. However, on 19 July 1943, the San Lorenzo district was subject to Allied bombing raids, resulting in about 3,000 fatalities and 11,000 injuries, of whom another 1,500 died.[71] Mussolini was arrested on 25 July 1943. On the date of the Italian Armistice 8 September 1943 the city was occupied by the Germans. The Pope declared Rome an open city. It was liberated on 4 June 1944. Rome developed greatly after the war as part of the "Italian economic miracle" of post-war reconstruction and modernisation in the 1950s and early 1960s. During this period, the years of la dolce vita ("the sweet life"), Rome became a fashionable city, with popular classic films such as Ben Hur, Quo Vadis, Roman Holiday and La Dolce Vita filmed in the city's iconic Cinecittà Studios. The rising trend in population growth continued until the mid-1980s when the comune had more than 2.8 million residents. After this, the population declined slowly as people began to move to nearby suburbs. Geography Location Satellite image of Rome Rome is in the Lazio region of central Italy on the Tiber (Italian: Tevere) river. The original settlement developed on hills that faced onto a ford beside the Tiber Island, the only natural ford of the river in this area. The Rome of the Kings was built on seven hills: the Aventine Hill, the Caelian Hill, the Capitoline Hill, the Esquiline Hill, the Palatine Hill, the Quirinal Hill, and the Viminal Hill. Modern Rome is also crossed by another river, the Aniene, which flows into the Tiber north of the historic centre. Although the city centre is about 24 km (15 mi) inland from the Tyrrhenian Sea, the city territory extends to the shore, where the south-western district of Ostia is located. The altitude of the central part of Rome ranges from 13 m (43 ft) above sea level (at the base of the Pantheon) to 139 m (456 ft) above sea level (the peak of Monte Mario).[72] The Comune of Rome covers an overall area of about 1,285 km2 (496 sq mi), including many green areas. Parks and gardens Main article: List of parks and gardens in Rome The Temple of Aesculapius, in the Villa Borghese gardens Public parks and nature reserves cover a large area in Rome, and the city has one of the largest areas of green space among European capitals.[73] The most notable part of this green space is represented by the large number of villas and landscaped gardens created by the Italian aristocracy. While most of the parks surrounding the villas were destroyed during the building boom of the late 19th century, some of them remain. The most notable of these are the Villa Borghese, Villa Ada, and Villa Doria Pamphili. Villa Doria Pamphili is west of the Gianicolo hill, comprising some 1.8 km2 (0.7 sq mi). The Villa Sciarra is on the hill, with playgrounds for children and shaded walking areas. In the nearby area of Trastevere, the Orto Botanico (Botanical Garden) is a cool and shady green space. The old Roman hippodrome (Circus Maximus) is another large green space: it has few trees but is overlooked by the Palatine and the Rose Garden ('roseto comunale'). Nearby is the lush Villa Celimontana, close to the gardens surrounding the Baths of Caracalla. The Villa Borghese garden is the best known large green space in Rome, with famous art galleries among its shaded walks. Overlooking Piazza del Popolo and the Spanish Steps are the gardens of Pincio and Villa Medici. There is also a notable pine wood at Castelfusano, near Ostia. Rome also has a number of regional parks of much more recent origin, including the Pineto Regional Park and the Appian Way Regional Park. There are also nature reserves at Marcigliana and at Tenuta di Castelporziano. Climate Main article: Climate of Rome Stone pines in the Villa Doria Pamphili Rome has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa),[74] with hot, dry summers and mild, humid winters. Its average annual temperature is above 21 °C (70 °F) during the day and 9 °C (48 °F) at night. In the coldest month, January, the average temperature is 12.6 °C (54.7 °F) during the day and 2.1 °C (35.8 °F) at night. In the warmest month, August, the average temperature is 31.7 °C (89.1 °F) during the day and 17.3 °C (63.1 °F) at night. December, January and February are the coldest months, with a daily mean temperature of approximately 8 °C (46 °F). Temperatures during these months generally vary between 10 and 15 °C (50 and 59 °F) during the day and between 3 and 5 °C (37 and 41 °F) at night, with colder or warmer spells occurring frequently. Snowfall is rare but not unheard of, with light snow or flurries occurring on some winters, generally without accumulation, and major snowfalls on a very rare occurrence (the most recent ones were in 2018, 2012 and 1986).[75][76][77] The average relative humidity is 75%, varying from 72% in July to 77% in November. Sea temperatures vary from a low of 13.9 °C (57.0 °F) in February to a high of 25.0 °C (77.0 °F) in August.[78] The highest temperature ever recorded in Rome was 42.9 °C (109.2 °F) on 18 July 2023.[79] Climate data for Rome Ciampino Airport, elevation: 129 m or 423 ft, 1991-2020 normals, extremes 1944–present Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high °C (°F) 20.8 (69.4) 23.0 (73.4) 26.6 (79.9) 30.0 (86.0) 34.2 (93.6) 39.3 (102.7) 39.7 (103.5) 40.6 (105.1) 40.0 (104.0) 32.0 (89.6) 26.1 (79.0) 21.2 (70.2) 40.6 (105.1) Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 12.0 (53.6) 13.0 (55.4) 15.8 (60.4) 18.8 (65.8) 22.3 (72.1) 28.1 (82.6) 31.0 (87.8) 31.6 (88.9) 26.7 (80.1) 22.2 (72.0) 16.9 (62.4) 12.7 (54.9) 21.0 (69.8) Daily mean °C (°F) 7.5 (45.5) 8.0 (46.4) 10.7 (51.3) 13.6 (56.5) 18.0 (64.4) 22.5 (72.5) 25.1 (77.2) 25.4 (77.7) 21.0 (69.8) 17.0 (62.6) 12.4 (54.3) 8.5 (47.3) 15.8 (60.4) Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 3.4 (38.1) 3.4 (38.1) 5.9 (42.6) 8.6 (47.5) 12.6 (54.7) 16.7 (62.1) 19.3 (66.7) 19.8 (67.6) 16.0 (60.8) 12.4 (54.3) 8.5 (47.3) 4.7 (40.5) 10.9 (51.6) Record low °C (°F) −11.0 (12.2) −6.9 (19.6) −6.5 (20.3) −2.4 (27.7) 1.8 (35.2) 5.6 (42.1) 9.1 (48.4) 9.3 (48.7) 4.3 (39.7) 0.8 (33.4) −5.2 (22.6) −6.6 (20.1) −11.0 (12.2) Average precipitation mm (inches) 65.6 (2.58) 62.8 (2.47) 58.6 (2.31) 68.6 (2.70) 56.9 (2.24) 30.1 (1.19) 19.8 (0.78) 30.2 (1.19) 64.9 (2.56) 88.1 (3.47) 108.2 (4.26) 98.3 (3.87) 752.0 (29.61) Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 7.40 7.48 6.85 7.42 5.54 3.38 2.16 2.20 6.00 7.32 8.84 9.44 74.03 Average relative humidity (%) 75.8 71.5 70.6 70.4 69.0 65.4 63.3 64.1 69.1 74.0 77.9 77.2 70.7 Average dew point °C (°F) 3.9 (39.0) 3.5 (38.3) 5.8 (42.4) 8.5 (47.3) 12.1 (53.8) 15.1 (59.2) 16.9 (62.4) 17.7 (63.9) 15.5 (59.9) 12.9 (55.2) 9.3 (48.7) 5.2 (41.4) 10.5 (50.9) Mean monthly sunshine hours 155.9 171.9 203.1 221.1 276.5 298.8 337.6 320.2 237.9 200.6 153.3 146.9 2,723.9 Source 1: NOAA[80] Source 2: Temperature estreme in Toscana[81] Demographics See also: Demographics of Italy Rome (comune) age-sex pyramid in 2022 Historical population Year Pop. ±% 1861 194,500 —     1871 212,432 +9.2% 1881 273,952 +29.0% 1901 422,411 +54.2% 1911 518,917 +22.8% 1921 660,235 +27.2% 1931 930,926 +41.0% 1936 1,150,589 +23.6% 1951 1,651,754 +43.6% 1961 2,188,160 +32.5% 1971 2,781,993 +27.1% 1981 2,840,259 +2.1% 1991 2,775,250 −2.3% 2001 2,663,182 −4.0% 2011 2,617,175 −1.7% 2021 2,770,226 +5.8% Source: ISTAT, 2022 In 550 BC, Rome was the second largest city in Italy, with Tarentum being the largest.[citation needed] It had an area of about 285 ha (700 acres) and an estimated population of 35,000. Other sources suggest the population was just under 100,000 from 600 to 500 BC.[82][83] When the Republic was founded in 509 BC the census recorded a population of 130,000.[84] The republic included the city itself and the immediate surroundings. Other sources suggest a population of 150,000 in 500 BC. It surpassed 300,000 in 150 BC.[85][86][87][88][89] The size of the city at the time of the Emperor Augustus is a matter of speculation, with estimates based on grain distribution, grain imports, aqueduct capacity, city limits, population density, census reports, and assumptions about the number of unreported women, children and slaves providing a very wide range. Glenn Storey estimates 450,000 people, Whitney Oates estimates 1.2 million, Neville Morely provides a rough estimate of 800,000 and excludes earlier suggestions of 2 million.[90][91][92][93] Estimates of the city's population towards and after the end of the Roman empire also vary. A.H.M. Jones estimated the population at 650,000 in the mid-fifth century. The damage caused by the sackings may have been overestimated. The population had already started to decline from the late fourth century onward, although around the middle of the fifth century it seems that Rome continued to be the most populous city of the two parts of the Empire.[94] According to Krautheimer it was still close to 800,000 in 400 AD; had declined to 500,000 by 452, and dwindled to perhaps 100,000 in 500 AD. After the Gothic Wars, 535–552, the population may have dwindled temporarily to 30,000. During the pontificate of Pope Gregory I (590–604), it may have reached 90,000, augmented by refugees.[95] Lancon estimates 500,000 based on the number of 'incisi' enrolled as eligible to receive bread, oil and wine rations; the number fell to 120,000 in the reform of 419.[96] Neil Christie, citing free rations for the poorest, estimated 500,000 in the mid-fifth century and still a quarter of a million at the end of the century.[97] Novel 36 of Emperor Valentinian III records 3.629 million pounds of pork to be distributed to the needy at 5 lbs. per month for the five winter months, sufficient for 145,000 recipients. This has been used to suggest a population of just under 500,000. Supplies of grain remained steady until the seizure of the remaining provinces of North Africa in 439 by the Vandals, and may have continued to some degree afterwards for a while. The city's population declined to less than 50,000 people in the Early Middle Ages from 700 AD onward. It continued to stagnate or shrink until the Renaissance.[98] When the Kingdom of Italy annexed Rome in 1870, the city had a population of about 225,000. Less than half the city within the walls was built up in 1881 when the population recorded was 275,000. This increased to 600,000 by the eve of World War I. The Fascist regime of Mussolini tried to block an excessive demographic rise of the city but failed to prevent it from reaching one million people by the early 1930s.[citation needed][clarification needed] Population growth continued after the Second World War, helped by a post-war economic boom. A construction boom also created many suburbs during the 1950s and 1960s. In mid-2010, there were 2,754,440 residents in the city proper, while some 4.2 million people lived in the greater Rome area (which can be approximately identified with its administrative metropolitan city, with a population density of about 800 inhabitants/km2 stretching over more than 5,000 km2 (1,900 sq mi)). Minors (children ages 18 and younger) totalled 17.00% of the population compared to pensioners who number 20.76%. This compares with the Italian average of 18.06% (minors) and 19.94% (pensioners). The average age of a Roman resident is 43 compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Rome grew by 6.54%, while Italy as a whole grew by 3.56%.[99] The current[when?] birth rate of Rome is 9.10 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9.45 births.[citation needed] The urban area of Rome extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of around 3.9 million.[100] Between 3.2 and 4.2 million people live in the Rome metropolitan area.[101][102][103][104][105] Origin groups The Esquilino rione According to the latest statistics conducted by ISTAT,[106] approximately 9.5% of the population consists of non-Italians. About half of the immigrant population consists of those of various other European origins (chiefly Romanian, Polish, Ukrainian, and Albanian) numbering a combined total of 131,118 or 4.7% of the population. The remaining 4.8% are those with non-European origins, chiefly Filipinos (26,933), Bangladeshis (12,154), and Chinese (10,283). The Esquilino rione, off Termini Railway Station, has evolved into a largely immigrant neighbourhood. It is perceived as Rome's Chinatown. Immigrants from more than a hundred different countries reside there. A commercial district, Esquilino contains restaurants featuring many kinds of international cuisine. There are wholesale clothes shops. Of the 1,300 or so commercial premises operating in the district 800 are Chinese-owned; around 300 are run by immigrants from other countries around the world; 200 are owned by Italians.[107] Language Main articles: Roman dialect and Latin Advertisement in Romanesco dialect at a subway station in Rome Rome's historic contribution to language in a worldwide sense is much more extensive, however. Through the process of Romanization, the peoples of Italy, Gallia, the Iberian Peninsula and Dacia developed languages which derive directly from Latin and were adopted in large areas of the world, all through cultural influence, colonisation and migration. Moreover, also modern English, because of the Norman Conquest, borrowed a large percentage of its vocabulary from the Latin language. The Roman or Latin alphabet is the most widely used writing system in the world used by the greatest number of languages.[108] The medieval Roman dialect belonged to the southern family of Italian dialects, and was thus much closer to the Neapolitan language than to the Florentine.[109][110] A typical example of Romanesco of that period is Vita di Cola di Rienzo [it] ("Life of Cola di Rienzo"), written by an anonymous Roman during the 14th century.[109] Starting with the 16th century, the Roman dialect underwent a stronger and stronger influence from the Tuscan dialect (from which modern Italian derives) starting with the reigns of the two Medici popes (Leo X and Clement VII) and with the Sack of Rome in 1527, two events which provoked a large immigration from Tuscany.[111][112] Therefore, current Romanesco has grammar and roots that are rather different from other dialects in Central Italy.[112] Religion Main article: Religion in Rome See also: Vatican City Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran, Rome's Cathedral, built in 324, and partly rebuilt between 1660 and 1734 One of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome, Santa Maria Maggiore is the city's largest Catholic Marian church. Much like the rest of Italy, Rome is predominantly Christian, and the city has been an important centre of religion and pilgrimage for centuries, the base of the ancient Roman religion with the pontifex maximus and later the seat of the Vatican and the pope. Before the arrival of the Christians in Rome, the Religio Romana (literally, the "Roman Religion") was the major religion of the city in classical antiquity. The first gods held sacred by the Romans were Jupiter, the Most High, and Mars, the god of war, and father of Rome's twin founders, Romulus and Remus, according to tradition. Other deities such as Vesta and Minerva were honoured. Rome was also the base of several mystery cults, such as Mithraism. Later, after St Peter and St Paul were martyred in the city, and the first Christians began to arrive, Rome became Christian, and the Old St. Peter's Basilica was constructed in 313 AD. Despite some interruptions (such as the Avignon papacy), Rome has for centuries been the home of the Roman Catholic Church and the Bishop of Rome, otherwise known as the Pope. Despite the fact that Rome is home to the Vatican City and St. Peter's Basilica, Rome's cathedral is the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran, in the south-east of the city centre. There are around 900 churches in Rome in total. Aside from the cathedral itself, some others of note include the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, the Basilica di San Clemente, San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane and the Church of the Gesù. There are also the ancient Catacombs of Rome underneath the city. Numerous highly important religious educational institutions are also in Rome, such as the Pontifical Lateran University, Pontifical Biblical Institute, Pontifical Gregorian University, and Pontifical Oriental Institute. Since the end of the Roman Republic, Rome is also the centre of an important Jewish community,[113] which was once based in Trastevere, and later in the Roman Ghetto. There lies also the major synagogue in Rome, the Tempio Maggiore. The territory of Vatican City is part of the Mons Vaticanus (Vatican Hill), and of the adjacent former Vatican Fields, where St. Peter's Basilica, the Apostolic Palace, the Sistine Chapel, and museums were built, along with various other buildings. The area was part of the Roman rione of Borgo until 1929. Being separated from the city on the west bank of the Tiber, the area was a suburb that was protected by being included within the walls of Leo IV, later expanded by the current fortification walls of Paul III, Pius IV, and Urban VIII. When the Lateran Treaty of 1929 that created the Vatican state was being prepared, the boundaries of the proposed territory were influenced by the fact that much of it was all but enclosed by this loop. Rome has been a major Christian pilgrimage site since the Middle Ages. People from all over the Christian world visit Vatican City, within the city of Rome, the seat of the papacy. The city became a major pilgrimage site during the Middle Ages. Apart from brief periods as an independent city during the Middle Ages, Rome kept its status as Papal capital and holy city for centuries, even when the Papacy briefly relocated to Avignon (1309–1377). Catholics believe that the Vatican is the last resting place of St. Peter. Pilgrimages to Rome can involve visits to many sites, both within Vatican City and in Italian territory. A popular stopping point is the Pilate's stairs: these are, according to the Christian tradition, the steps that led up to the praetorium of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem, which Jesus Christ stood on during his Passion on his way to trial.[114] Panorama of St. Peter's Square St. Peter's Square in Vatican City Government See also: Mayor of Rome, City Council of Rome, Elections in Rome, and Administrative subdivisions of Rome Palazzo Senatorio on Capitoline Hill, current seat of the Mayor of Rome Palazzo del Quirinale, current seat of the President of the Italian Republic Rome constitutes a comune speciale, named "Roma Capitale",[115] and is the largest both in terms of land area and population among the 8,101 comuni of Italy. It is governed by a mayor and a city council. The seat of the comune is the Palazzo Senatorio on the Capitoline Hill, the historic seat of the city government. The local administration in Rome is commonly referred to as "Campidoglio", the Italian name of the hill. Since 1972, the city has been divided into administrative areas, called municipi (sing. municipio) (until 2001 named circoscrizioni).[116] They were created for administrative reasons to increase decentralisation in the city. Each municipio is governed by a president and a council of twenty-five members who are elected by its residents every five years. The municipi frequently cross the boundaries of the traditional, non-administrative divisions of the city. The municipi were originally 20, then 19,[117] and in 2013, their number was reduced to 15.[118] Rome is also divided into differing types of non-administrative units. The historic centre is divided into 22 rioni, all of which are located within the Aurelian Walls except Prati and Borgo. These originate from the 14 regions of Augustan Rome, which evolved in the Middle Ages into the medieval rioni.[119] In the Renaissance, under Pope Sixtus V, they again reached fourteen, and their boundaries were finally defined under Pope Benedict XIV in 1743. Rome is the principal town of the Metropolitan City of Rome, operative since 1 January 2015. The Metropolitan City replaced the old provincia di Roma, which included the city's metropolitan area and extends further north until Civitavecchia. The Metropolitan City of Rome is the largest by area in Italy. At 5,352 km2 (2,066 sq mi), its dimensions are comparable to the region of Liguria. Moreover, the city is also the capital of the Lazio region.[120] Rome is the national capital of Italy and is the seat of the Italian Government. The official residences of the President of the Italian Republic and the Italian Prime Minister, the seats of both houses of the Italian Parliament and that of the Italian Constitutional Court are located in the historic centre. The state ministries are spread out around the city; these include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is located in Palazzo della Farnesina near the Olympic stadium. International relations FAO headquarters in Rome, Circo Massimo Among the global cities, Rome is unique in having two sovereign entities located entirely within its city limits, the Holy See, represented by the Vatican City State, and the territorially smaller Sovereign Military Order of Malta. The Vatican is an enclave of the Italian capital city and a sovereign possession of the Holy See, which is the Diocese of Rome and the supreme government of the Roman Catholic Church. For this reason, Rome has sometimes been described as the capital of two states.[121][122] Rome is the seat of the so-called "Polo Romano" made up by three main international agencies of the United Nations: the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).[123] Rome has traditionally been involved in the process of European political integration. The Treaties of the EU are located in Palazzo della Farnesina. In 1957 the city hosted the signing of the Treaty of Rome, which established the European Economic Community (predecessor to the European Union), and also played host to the official signing of the proposed European Constitution in July 2004. Rome is the seat of the European Olympic Committee and of the NATO Defense College. The city is the place where the Statute of the International Criminal Court and the European Convention on Human Rights were formulated. The city hosts also other important international entities such as the IDLO (International Development Law Organisation), the ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property) and the UNIDROIT (International Institute for the Unification of Private Law). Twin towns and sister cities See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Italy Since 9 April 1956, Rome is exclusively and reciprocally twinned only with: France Paris, France, 1956 Solo Parigi è degna di Roma; solo Roma è degna di Parigi. (in Italian) Seule Paris est digne de Rome; seule Rome est digne de Paris. (in French) "Only Paris is worthy of Rome; only Rome is worthy of Paris."[124][125][126][127][128] Rome's other partner cities are:[129]  Achacachi, Bolivia[129]  Algiers, Algeria[129]  Beijing, China[130][131]  Belgrade, Serbia[129]  Brasília, Brazil[129]  Buenos Aires, Argentina[129]  Cairo, Egypt[129]  Cincinnati, United States[129]  Kyiv, Ukraine[129]  Kobanî, Syria[132]  Kraków, Poland[133]  Madrid, Spain[134]  Multan, Pakistan[135]  New Delhi, India[129]  New York City, United States[136]  Plovdiv, Bulgaria[129]  Seoul, South Korea[137][138]  Sydney, Australia[129]  Tirana, Albania[139][140]  Tehran, Iran[129]  Tokyo, Japan[141]  Tongeren, Belgium[129]  Tunis, Tunisia[142]  Washington, D.C., United States[143] Economy Main article: Economy of Rome Palazzo Eni, in the EUR business district, is the headquarters of Eni, considered one of the world's oil and gas "supermajors".[144] Enel's headquarters in Rome, the second largest power company in the world by revenue after the State Grid Corporation of China.[145] Orizzonte Europa, BNL headquarters in Rome As the capital of Italy, Rome hosts all the principal institutions of the nation, including the Presidency of the Republic, the government (and its single Ministeri), the Parliament, the main judicial Courts, and the diplomatic representatives of all the countries for the states of Italy and Vatican City. Many international institutions are located in Rome, notably cultural and scientific ones, such as the American Institute, the British School, the French Academy, the Scandinavian Institutes, and the German Archaeological Institute. There are also specialised agencies of the United Nations, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Rome also hosts major international and worldwide political and cultural organisations, such as the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), World Food Programme (WFP), the NATO Defence College, and the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM). According to the GaWC study of world cities, Rome is a "Beta +" city.[146] The city was ranked in 2014 as 32nd in the Global Cities Index, the highest in Italy.[147] With a 2005 GDP of €94.376 billion (US$121.5 billion),[148][needs update] the city produces 6.7% of the national GDP (more than any other single city in Italy), and its unemployment rate, lowered from 11.1% to 6.5% between 2001 and 2005, is now one of the lowest rates of all the European Union capital cities.[148] Rome's economy grows at around 4.4% annually and continues to grow at a higher rate in comparison to any other city in the rest of the country.[148] This means that were Rome a country, it would be the world's 52nd richest country by GDP, near to the size to that of Egypt. Rome also had a 2003 GDP per capita of €29,153 (US$37,412), which was second in Italy (after Milan), and is more than 134.1% of the EU average GDP per capita.[149][needs update] Rome, on the whole, has the highest total earnings in Italy, reaching €47,076,890,463 in 2008,[150][needs update] yet, in terms of average workers' incomes, the city places itself 9th in Italy, with €24,509.[150] On a global level, Rome's workers receive the 30th highest wages in 2009, coming three places higher than in 2008, in which the city ranked 33rd.[151][needs update] The Rome area had a GDP amounting to $167.8 billion, and $38,765 per capita.[152] Although the economy of Rome is characterised by the absence of heavy industry, and it is largely dominated by services, high-technology companies (IT, aerospace, defence, telecommunications), research, construction and commercial activities (especially banking), and the huge development of tourism are very dynamic and extremely important to its economy. Rome's international airport, Fiumicino, is the largest in Italy, and the city hosts the head offices of the vast majority of the major Italian companies, as well as the headquarters of three of the world's 100 largest companies: Enel, Eni, and Telecom Italia.[153] Universities, national radio and television and the movie industry in Rome are also important parts of the economy: Rome is also the hub of the Italian film industry, thanks to the Cinecittà studios, working since the 1930s. The city is also a centre for banking and insurance as well as electronics, energy, transport, and aerospace industries. Numerous international companies and agencies headquarters, government ministries, conference centres, sports venues, and museums are located in Rome's principal business districts: the Esposizione Universale Roma (EUR); the Torrino (further south from the EUR); the Magliana; the Parco de' Medici-Laurentina and the so-called Tiburtina-valley along the ancient Via Tiburtina. Tourism Main articles: Tourism in Rome and List of tourist attractions in Rome Fontana della Barcaccia in Piazza di Spagna, the Spanish Steps and Trinità dei Monti Piazza Navona As of 2022, the Vatican Museums are the second most visited art museum in the world.[154] Rome today is one of the most important tourist destinations of the world, due to the incalculable immensity of its archaeological and artistic treasures, as well as for the charm of its unique traditions, the beauty of its panoramic views, and the majesty of its magnificent "villas" (parks). Among the most significant resources are the many museums – Capitoline Museums, the Vatican Museums and the Galleria Borghese and others dedicated to modern and contemporary art – aqueducts, fountains, churches, palaces, historical buildings, the monuments and ruins of the Roman Forum, and the Catacombs. Rome is the third most visited city in the EU, after London and Paris, and receives an average of 7–10 million tourists a year, which sometimes doubles on holy years. The Colosseum (4 million tourists) and the Vatican Museums (4.2 million tourists) are the 39th and 37th (respectively) most visited places in the world, according to a recent study.[155] Rome is a major archaeological hub, and one of the world's main centres of archaeological research. There are numerous cultural and research institutes located in the city, such as the American Academy in Rome,[156] and The Swedish Institute at Rome.[157] Rome contains numerous ancient sites, including the Forum Romanum, Trajan's Market, Trajan's Forum,[158] the Colosseum, and the Pantheon, to name but a few. The Colosseum, arguably one of Rome's most iconic archaeological sites, is regarded as a wonder of the world.[159][160] Rome contains a vast collection of art, sculpture, fountains, mosaics, frescos, and paintings, from all different periods. Rome first became a major artistic centre during ancient Rome, with forms of important Roman art such as architecture, painting, sculpture and mosaic work. Metal-work, coin die and gem engraving, ivory carvings, figurine glass, pottery, and book illustrations are considered to be 'minor' forms of Roman artwork.[161] Rome later became a major centre of Renaissance art, since the popes spent vast sums of money for the constructions of grandiose basilicas, palaces, piazzas and public buildings in general. Rome became one of Europe's major centres of Renaissance artwork, second only to Florence, and able to compare to other major cities and cultural centres, such as Paris and Venice. The city was affected greatly by the baroque, and Rome became the home of numerous artists and architects, such as Bernini, Caravaggio, Carracci, Borromini and Cortona.[162] In the late 18th century and early 19th century, the city was one of the centres of the Grand Tour,[163] when wealthy, young English and other European aristocrats visited the city to learn about ancient Roman culture, art, philosophy, and architecture. Rome hosted a great number of neoclassical and rococo artists, such as Pannini and Bernardo Bellotto. Today, the city is a major artistic centre, with numerous art institutes[164] and museums. Rome has a growing stock of contemporary and modern art and architecture. The National Gallery of Modern Art has works by Balla, Morandi, Pirandello, Carrà, De Chirico, De Pisis, Guttuso, Fontana, Burri, Mastroianni, Turcato, Kandisky, and Cézanne on permanent exhibition. 2010 saw the opening of Rome's newest arts foundation, a contemporary art and architecture gallery designed by acclaimed Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid. Known as MAXXI – National Museum of the 21st Century Arts it restores a dilapidated area with striking modern architecture. Maxxi[165] features a campus dedicated to culture, experimental research laboratories, international exchange and study and research. It is one of Rome's most ambitious modern architecture projects alongside Renzo Piano's Auditorium Parco della Musica[166] and Massimiliano Fuksas' Rome Convention Center, Centro Congressi Italia EUR, in the EUR district, due to open in 2016.[167] The convention centre features a huge translucent container inside which is suspended a steel and teflon structure resembling a cloud and which contains meeting rooms and an auditorium with two piazzas open to the neighbourhood on either side. Education The Sapienza University of Rome, founded in 1303 Rome is a nationwide and major international centre for higher education, containing numerous academies, colleges and universities. It boasts a large variety of academies and colleges, and has always been a major worldwide intellectual and educational centre, especially during Ancient Rome and the Renaissance, along with Florence.[168] According to the City Brands Index, Rome is considered the world's second most historically, educationally and culturally interesting and beautiful city.[169] Rome has many universities and colleges. Its first university, La Sapienza (founded in 1303), is one of the largest in the world, with more than 140,000 students attending; in 2005 it ranked as Europe's 33rd best university[170] and in 2013 the Sapienza University of Rome ranked as the 62nd in the world and the top in Italy in its World University Rankings.[171] and has been ranked among Europe's 50 and the world's 150 best colleges.[172] In order to decrease the overcrowding of La Sapienza, two new public universities were founded during the last decades: Tor Vergata in 1982, and Roma Tre in 1992. Rome hosts also the LUISS School of Government,[173] Italy's most important graduate university in the areas of international affairs and European studies as well as LUISS Business School, Italy's most important business school. Rome ISIA was founded in 1973 by Giulio Carlo Argan and is Italy's oldest institution in the field of industrial design. Biblioteca Casanatense Rome contains many pontifical universities and other institutes, including the British School at Rome, the French School in Rome, the Pontifical Gregorian University (the oldest Jesuit university in the world, founded in 1551), Istituto Europeo di Design, the Scuola Lorenzo de' Medici, the Link Campus of Malta, and the Università Campus Bio-Medico. Rome is also the location of two American Universities; The American University of Rome[174] and John Cabot University as well as St. John's University branch campus, John Felice Rome Center, a campus of Loyola University Chicago and Temple University Rome, a campus of Temple University.[175] The Roman Colleges are several seminaries for students from foreign countries studying for the priesthood at the Pontifical Universities.[176] Examples include the Venerable English College, the Pontifical North American College, the Scots College, and the Pontifical Croatian College of St. Jerome. Rome's major libraries include: the Biblioteca Angelica, opened in 1604, making it Italy's first public library; the Biblioteca Vallicelliana, established in 1565; the Biblioteca Casanatense, opened in 1701; the National Central Library, one of the two national libraries in Italy, which contains 4,126,002 volumes; The Biblioteca del Ministero degli Affari Esteri, specialised in diplomacy, foreign affairs and modern history; the Biblioteca dell'Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana; the Biblioteca Don Bosco, one of the largest and most modern of all Salesian libraries; the Biblioteca e Museo teatrale del Burcardo, a museum-library specialised in history of drama and theatre; the Biblioteca della Società Geografica Italiana, which is based in the Villa Celimontana and is the most important geographical library in Italy, and one of Europe's most important;[177] and the Vatican Library, one of the oldest and most important libraries in the world, which was formally established in 1475, though in fact much older and has 75,000 codices, as well as 1.1 million printed books, which include some 8,500 incunabula. There are also many specialist libraries attached to various foreign cultural institutes in Rome, among them that of the American Academy in Rome, the French Academy in Rome and the Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max Planck Institute of Art History, a German library, often noted for excellence in the arts and sciences.[178] Culture Main article: Culture in Rome Architecture This section is an excerpt from Architecture of Rome.[edit] The architecture of Rome over the centuries has greatly developed from Ancient Roman architecture to Italian modern and contemporary architecture. Rome was once the world's main epicentres of Classical architecture, developing new forms such as the arch, the dome and the vault. The Romanesque style in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries was also widely used in Roman architecture, and later the city became one of the main centres of Renaissance and Baroque architecture.[179] Rome's cityscape is also widely Neoclassical and Fascist in style. The Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana in EUR district Fountains and aqueducts Main articles: List of fountains in Rome and List of aqueducts in the city of Rome Construction of the Trevi Fountain began during the time of Ancient Rome and was completed in 1762 by a design of Nicola Salvi. Rome is a city known for its numerous fountains, built-in all different styles, from Classical and Medieval, to Baroque and Neoclassical. The city has had fountains for more than two thousand years, and they have provided drinking water and decorated the piazzas of Rome. During the Roman Empire, in 98 AD, according to Sextus Julius Frontinus, the Roman consul who was named curator aquarum or guardian of the water of the city, Rome had nine aqueducts which fed 39 monumental fountains and 591 public basins, not counting the water supplied to the Imperial household, baths, and owners of private villas. Each of the major fountains was connected to two different aqueducts, in case one was shut down for service.[180] During the 17th and 18th century, the Roman popes reconstructed other degraded Roman aqueducts and built new display fountains to mark their termini, launching the golden age of the Roman fountain. The fountains of Rome, like the paintings of Rubens, were expressions of the new style of Baroque art. In these fountains, sculpture became the principal element, and the water was used simply to animate and decorate the sculptures. They, like baroque gardens, were "a visual representation of confidence and power".[181] Statues See also: Talking statues of Rome Fontana dei Fiumi by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 1648 Rome is well known for its statues but, in particular, the talking statues of Rome. These are usually ancient statues which have become popular soapboxes for political and social discussion, and places for people to (often satirically) voice their opinions. There are two main talking statues: the Pasquino and the Marforio, yet there are four other noted ones: il Babuino, Madama Lucrezia, il Facchino and Abbot Luigi. Most of these statues are ancient Roman or classical, and most of them also depict mythical gods, ancient people or legendary figures; il Pasquino represents Menelaus, Abbot Luigi is an unknown Roman magistrate, il Babuino is supposed to be Silenus, Marforio represents Oceanus, Madama Lucrezia is a bust of Isis, and il Facchino is the only non-Roman statue, created in 1580, and not representing anyone in particular. They are often, due to their status, covered with placards or graffiti expressing political ideas and points of view. Other statues in the city, which are not related to the talking statues, include those of the Ponte Sant'Angelo, or several monuments scattered across the city, such as that to Giordano Bruno in the Campo de'Fiori. Obelisks and columns Main article: List of obelisks in Rome Flaminio Obelisk, Piazza del Popolo The city hosts eight ancient Egyptian and five ancient Roman obelisks, together with a number of more modern obelisks; there was also formerly (until 2005) an ancient Ethiopian obelisk in Rome.[182] The city contains some of obelisks in piazzas, such as in Piazza Navona, St Peter's Square, Piazza Montecitorio, and Piazza del Popolo, and others in villas, thermae parks and gardens, such as in Villa Celimontana, the Baths of Diocletian, and the Pincian Hill. Moreover, the centre of Rome hosts also Trajan's and Antonine Column, two ancient Roman columns with spiral relief. The Column of Marcus Aurelius is located in Piazza Colonna and it was built around 180 AD by Commodus in memory of his parents. The Column of Marcus Aurelius was inspired by Trajan's Column at Trajan's Forum, which is part of the Imperial Fora.[183] Bridges Main article: List of bridges in Rome Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II at sunset The city of Rome contains numerous famous bridges which cross the Tiber. The only bridge to remain unaltered until today from the classical age is Ponte dei Quattro Capi, which connects the Isola Tiberina with the left bank. The other surviving – albeit modified – ancient Roman bridges crossing the Tiber are Ponte Cestio, Ponte Sant'Angelo and Ponte Milvio. Considering Ponte Nomentano, also built during ancient Rome, which crosses the Aniene, currently there are five ancient Roman bridges still remaining in the city.[184] Other noteworthy bridges are Ponte Sisto, the first bridge built in the Renaissance above Roman foundations; Ponte Rotto, actually the only remaining arch of the ancient Pons Aemilius, collapsed during the flood of 1598 and demolished at the end of the 19th century; and Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II, a modern bridge connecting Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Borgo. Most of the city's public bridges were built in Classical or Renaissance style, but also in Baroque, Neoclassical and Modern styles. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, the finest ancient bridge remaining in Rome is the Ponte Sant'Angelo, which was completed in 135 AD, and was decorated with ten statues of the angels, designed by Bernini in 1688.[185] Catacombs Main article: Catacombs of Rome The Vatican Caves are the location of many papal burials. Rome has an extensive amount of ancient catacombs, or underground burial places under or near the city, of which there are at least forty, some discovered only in recent decades. Though most famous for Christian burials, they include pagan and Jewish burials, either in separate catacombs or mixed together. The first large-scale catacombs were excavated from the 2nd century onwards. Originally they were carved through tuff, a soft volcanic rock, outside the boundaries of the city, because Roman law forbade burial places within city limits. Currently, maintenance of the catacombs is in the hands of the Papacy which has invested in the Salesians of Don Bosco the supervision of the Catacombs of St. Callixtus on the outskirts of Rome. Entertainment and performing arts Main articles: Music in Rome and Events in Rome The Teatro dell'Opera di Roma at the Piazza Beniamino Gigli Rome is an important centre for music, and it has an intense musical scene, including several prestigious music conservatories and theatres. It hosts the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (founded in 1585), for which new concert halls have been built in the new Parco della Musica, one of the largest musical venues in the world. Rome also has an opera house, the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, as well as several minor musical institutions. The city also played host to the Eurovision Song Contest in 1991 and the MTV Europe Music Awards in 2004. Rome has also had a major impact on music history. The Roman School was a group of composers of predominantly church music, which were active in the city during the 16th and 17th centuries, therefore spanning the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. The term also refers to the music they produced. Many of the composers had a direct connection to the Vatican and the papal chapel, though they worked at several churches; stylistically they are often contrasted with the Venetian School of composers, a concurrent movement which was much more progressive. By far the most famous composer of the Roman School is Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, whose name has been associated for four hundred years with smooth, clear, polyphonic perfection. However, there were other composers working in Rome, and in a variety of styles and forms. Between 1960 and 1970 Rome was considered to be as a "new Hollywood" because of the many actors and directors who worked there; Via Vittorio Veneto had transformed into a glamour place where you could meet famous people.[186] Fashion Via Condotti Rome is also widely recognised as a world fashion capital. Although not as important as Milan, Rome is the fourth most important centre for fashion in the world, according to the 2009 Global Language Monitor after Milan, New York, and Paris, and beating London.[187] Major luxury fashion houses and jewellery chains, such as Valentino, Bulgari, Fendi,[188] Laura Biagiotti, Brioni, and Renato Balestra, are headquartered or were founded in the city. Also, other major labels, such as Gucci, Chanel, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Armani, and Versace have luxury boutiques in Rome, primarily along its prestigious and upscale Via dei Condotti. Cuisine Main article: Roman cuisine Spaghetti alla carbonara, a typical Roman dish Rome's cuisine has evolved through centuries and periods of social, cultural, and political changes. Rome became a major gastronomical centre during the ancient age. Ancient Roman cuisine was highly influenced by Ancient Greek culture, and after, the empire's enormous expansion exposed Romans to many new, provincial culinary habits and cooking techniques.[189] Later, during the Renaissance, Rome became well known as a centre of high-cuisine, since some of the best chefs of the time worked for the popes. An example of this was Bartolomeo Scappi, who was a chef working for Pius IV; he acquired fame in 1570 when his cookbook Opera dell'arte del cucinare was published. In the book he lists approximately 1,000 recipes of the Renaissance cuisine and describes cooking techniques and tools, giving the first known picture of a fork.[190] Concia di zucchine, an example of Roman-Jewish cuisine The Testaccio, Rome's trade and slaughterhouse area, was often known as the "belly" or "slaughterhouse" of Rome, and was inhabited by butchers, or vaccinari.[191] The most common or ancient Roman cuisine included the "fifth quarter".[191] The old-fashioned coda alla vaccinara (oxtail cooked in the way of butchers)[191] is still one of the city's most popular meals and is part of most of Rome's restaurants' menus. Lamb is also a very popular part of Roman cuisine, and is often roasted with spices and herbs.[191] In the modern age, the city developed its own peculiar cuisine, based on products of the nearby Campagna, as lamb and vegetables (globe artichokes are common).[192] In parallel, Roman Jews – present in the city since the 1st century BC – developed their own cuisine, the cucina giudaico-romanesca. Examples of Roman dishes include saltimbocca alla romana – a veal cutlet, Roman-style, topped with raw ham and sage and simmered with white wine and butter; carciofi alla romana – artichokes Roman-style, outer leaves removed, stuffed with mint, garlic, breadcrumbs and braised; carciofi alla giudia – artichokes fried in olive oil, typical of Roman Jewish cooking, outer leaves removed, stuffed with mint, garlic, breadcrumbs and braised; spaghetti alla carbonara – spaghetti with bacon, eggs and pecorino; and gnocchi di semolino alla romana – semolina dumpling, Roman-style.[193] Cinema Main articles: List of films set in Rome and List of films set in ancient Rome Entrance to the Cinecittà studios, the largest film studio in Europe[194] Rome hosts the Cinecittà Studios,[195] the largest film and television production facility in continental Europe and the centre of the Italian cinema, where many of today's biggest box office hits are filmed. The 99-acre (40 ha) studio complex is 9.0 km (5.6 mi) from the centre of Rome and is part of one of the biggest production communities in the world, second only to Hollywood, with well over 5,000 professionals – from period costume makers to visual effects specialists. More than 3,000 productions have been made on its lot.[citation needed] Founded in 1937 by Benito Mussolini, the studios were bombed by the Western Allies during the Second World War. In the 1950s, Cinecittà was the filming location for several large American film productions, and subsequently became the studio most closely associated with Federico Fellini. Today, Cinecittà is the only studio in the world with pre-production, production, and full post-production facilities on one lot, allowing directors and producers to walk in with their script and "walkout" with a completed film.[citation needed] Sports Stadio Olimpico, home of AS Roma and SS Lazio, is one of the largest sports stadiums in Europe, with a capacity of over 70,000.[196] Association football is the most popular sport in Rome, as in the rest of the country. The city hosted the final games of the 1934 and 1990 FIFA World Cup. The latter took place in the Stadio Olimpico, which is also the shared home stadium for local Serie A clubs SS Lazio, founded in 1900, and AS Roma, founded in 1927, whose rivalry in the Derby della Capitale has become a staple of Roman sports culture.[197] Footballers who play for these teams and are also born in the city tend to become especially popular, as has been the case with players such as Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi (both for AS Roma), and Alessandro Nesta (for SS Lazio). Stadio dei Marmi Rome hosted the 1960 Summer Olympics, with great success, using many ancient sites such as the Villa Borghese and the Thermae of Caracalla as venues. For the Olympic Games many new facilities were built, notably the new large Olympic Stadium (which was then enlarged and renewed to host several matches and the final of the 1990 FIFA World Cup), the Stadio Flaminio, the Villaggio Olimpico (Olympic Village, created to host the athletes and redeveloped after the games as a residential district), ecc. Rome made a bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics but it was withdrawn.[198][199] Further, Rome hosted the EuroBasket 1991 and is home to the internationally recognised basketball team Virtus Roma. Rugby union is gaining wider acceptance. Until 2011 the Stadio Flaminio was the home stadium for the Italy national rugby union team, which has been playing in the Six Nations Championship since 2000. The team now plays home games at the Stadio Olimpico because the Stadio Flaminio needs works of renovation in order to improve both its capacity and safety. Rome is home to local rugby union teams such as Rugby Roma (winner of five Italian championships), Unione Rugby Capitolina and S.S. Lazio Rugby 1927 (rugby union branch of the multisport club S.S. Lazio). Every May, Rome hosts the ATP Masters Series tennis tournament on the clay courts of the Foro Italico. Cycling was popular in the post-World War II period, although its popularity has faded. Rome has hosted the final portion of the Giro d'Italia three times, in 1911, 1950, and 2009. Other local sports teams include volleyball (M. Roma Volley), handball or waterpolo. Transport Main article: Transport in Rome Rome–Fiumicino Airport was the tenth busiest airport in Europe in 2016. Port of Civitavecchia Rome is at the centre of the radial network of roads that roughly follow the lines of the ancient Roman roads which began at the Capitoline Hill and connected Rome with its empire. Today Rome is circled, at a distance of about 10 km (6 mi) from the Capitol, by the ring-road (the Grande Raccordo Anulare or GRA). Due to its location in the centre of the Italian peninsula, Rome is the principal railway node for central Italy. Rome's main railway station, Termini, is one of the largest railway stations in Europe and the most heavily used in Italy, with around 400 thousand travellers passing through every day. The second-largest station in the city, Roma Tiburtina, has been redeveloped as a high-speed rail terminus.[200] As well as frequent high-speed day trains to all major Italian cities, Rome is linked nightly by 'boat train' sleeper services to Sicily, and internationally by overnight sleeper services to Munich and Vienna. Rome is served by three airports. The intercontinental Leonardo da Vinci International Airport, Italy's chief airport is located in the nearby Fiumicino, south-west of Rome. The older Rome Ciampino Airport is a joint civilian and military airport. It is commonly referred to as "Ciampino Airport", as it is located beside Ciampino, south-east of Rome. A third airport, the Rome Urbe Airport, is a small, low-traffic airport located about 6 km (4 mi) north of the city centre, which handles most helicopter and private flights. The main airport system of the city (composed of Fiumicino and Ciampino), with 32.8 million passengers transported in 2022, is the second busiest airport system in Italy.[201] Although the city has its own quarter on the Mediterranean Sea (Lido di Ostia), this has only a marina and a small channel-harbour for fishing boats. The main harbour which serves Rome is Port of Civitavecchia, located about 62 km (39 mi) northwest of the city.[202] The city suffers from traffic problems largely due to this radial street pattern, making it difficult for Romans to move easily from the vicinity of one of the radial roads to another without going into the historic centre or using the ring-road. These problems are not helped by the limited size of Rome's metro system when compared to other cities of similar size. Rome has only 21 taxis for every 10,000 inhabitants, far below other major European cities.[203] Chronic congestion caused by cars during the 1970s and 1980s led to restrictions being placed on vehicle access to the inner city-centre during daylight hours. Areas, where these restrictions apply, are known as Limited Traffic Zones (Zona a Traffico Limitato (ZTL)). More recently, heavy night-time traffic in Trastevere, Testaccio and San Lorenzo has led to the creation of night-time ZTLs in those districts. Roma Metrorail and Underground map, 2016 Conca d'Oro metro station A three-line metro system called the Metropolitana operates in Rome. Construction on the first branch started in the 1930s.[204] The line had been planned to quickly connect the main railway station with the newly planned E42 area in the southern suburbs, where 1942 the World Fair was supposed to be held. The event never took place because of war, but the area was later partly redesigned and renamed Esposizione Universale Roma in the 1950s to serve as a modern business district. The line was finally opened in 1955, and it is now the south part of the B Line. The A line opened in 1980 from Ottaviano to Anagnina stations, later extended in stages (1999–2000) to Battistini. In the 1990s, an extension of the B line was opened from Termini to Rebibbia. The A and B lines intersect at Roma Termini station. A new branch of the B line (B1) opened on 13 June 2012 after an estimated building cost of €500 million. B1 connects to line B at Piazza Bologna and has four stations over a distance of 3.9 km (2 mi). A third line, the C line, is under construction with an estimated cost of €3 billion and will have 30 stations over a distance of 25.5 km (16 mi). It will partly replace the existing Termini-Pantano rail line. It will feature full automated, driverless trains.[205] The first section with 15 stations connecting Pantano with the quarter of Centocelle in the eastern part of the city, opened on 9 November 2014.[206] The end of the work was scheduled in 2015, but archaeological findings often delay underground construction work. A fourth line, D line, is also planned. It will have 22 stations over a distance of 20 km (12 mi). The first section was projected to open in 2015 and the final sections before 2035, but due to the city's financial crisis, the project has been put on hold. Above-ground public transport in Rome is made up of a bus, tram and urban train network (FR lines). The bus network has in excess of 350 bus lines and over eight thousand bus stops, whereas the more-limited tram system has 39 km (24 mi) of track and 192 stops.[207] There are also trolleybuses.[208] See also flag Italy portal flag European Union portal Cities portal Outline of Rome SPQR Tourism in Italy Notes  Also the Vatican City  This hypothesis originates from the Roman Grammarian Maurus Servius Honoratus. However, the Greek verb descends from the Proto-Indo-European root *srew- (compare Ancient Greek ῥεῦμα (rheûma) 'a stream, flow, current', the Thracian river name Στρυμών (Strumṓn) and Proto-Germanic *strauma- 'stream'; if it was related, however, the Latin river name would be expected to begin with **Frum-, like Latin frīgeō 'to freeze' from the root *sreyHg-) and the Latin verb from *h₃rew-.  This hypothesis originates from Plutarch. References Vatican City, landlocked ecclesiastical state, seat of the Roman Catholic Church, and an enclave in Rome, situated on the west bank of the Tiber River. Vatican City is the world’s smallest fully independent nation-state. Its medieval and Renaissance walls form its boundaries except on the southeast at St. Peter’s Square (Piazza San Pietro). Of the six entrances, only three—the piazza, the Arco delle Campane (Arch of the Bells) in the facade of St. Peter’s Basilica, and the entrance to the Vatican Museums and Galleries in the north wall—are open to the public. The most imposing building is St. Peter’s Basilica, built during the 4th century and rebuilt during the 16th century. Erected over the tomb of St. Peter the Apostle, it is the second largest religious building (after Yamoussoukro Basilica) in Christendom. Vatican City: St. Peter's Basilica Vatican City: St. Peter's Basilica St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City. The Vatican palace is the residence of the pope within the city walls. The Holy See is the name given to the government of the Roman Catholic Church, which is led by the pope as the bishop of Rome. As such, the Holy See’s authority extends over Catholics throughout the world. Since 1929 it has resided in Vatican City, which was established as an independent state to enable the pope to exercise his universal authority. Brown globe on antique map. Brown world on vintage map. North America. Green globe. Hompepage blog 2009, history and society, geography and travel, explore discovery Britannica Quiz Match the Country with Its Hemisphere Quiz Vatican City has its own telephone system, post office, gardens, astronomical observatory, radio station, banking system, and pharmacy, as well as a contingent of Swiss Guards responsible for the personal safety of the pope since 1506. Almost all supplies—including food, water, electricity, and gas—must be imported. There is no income tax and no restriction on the import or export of funds. As the Holy See, it derives its income from the voluntary contributions of more than one billion Roman Catholics worldwide, as well as interest on investments and the sale of stamps, coins, and publications. Banking operations and expenditures have been reported publicly since the early 1980s. During the period from the 4th century to 1870, the Vatican gained control of territory around Rome and served as capital of the Papal States. In 1929 Vatican City’s independent sovereignty was recognized by the Fascist Italian government in the Lateran Treaty. Sovereignty is exercised by the pope upon his election as the head of the Roman Catholic Church. He has absolute executive, legislative, and judicial powers within the city. In 1984 a major reshuffle of offices in the Roman Curia resulted in the delegation of the routine administration of Vatican City to a pontifically appointed commission of five cardinals headed by the Secretariat of State. The inhabitants of Vatican City, the majority of whom are priests and nuns, also include several hundred laypersons engaged in secretarial, domestic, trade, and service occupations. Visit the holy site of Saint Peter's Basilica and learn about its history and architectural styles Visit the holy site of Saint Peter's Basilica and learn about its history and architectural styles Overview of St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City.See all videos for this article Special extraterritorial privileges are extended to more than 10 other buildings in Rome and to Castel Gandolfo, the pope’s summer residence in the Alban Hills. In addition, Vatican City maintains embassies in numerous foreign nations. Explore Vatican City's art treasure and understand Pope Leo Xs love for art which including both Biblical and secular themes Explore Vatican City's art treasure and understand Pope Leo Xs love for art which including both Biblical and secular themes Overview of Vatican City's art collection, including a discussion of Pope Leo X's patronage. See all videos for this article Vatican cultural life has much declined since the Renaissance, when the popes were among Italy’s foremost patrons of the arts. The Vatican Museums and Galleries, the frescoes by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel, the frescoes by Pinturicchio in the Borgia Apartment, and Raphael’s Stanze (“Rooms”) nevertheless attract critics, artists, and flocks of tourists from throughout the world. Years of restoration work on the Sistine Chapel frescoes were completed in 1994, making it possible to view Michelangelo’s work in full vibrant colours. In 2000 the millennial Jubilee focused world attention on Vatican City. Are you a student? Get Britannica Premium for only $24.95 - a 67% discount! The Vatican Apostolic Library contains a priceless collection of some 150,000 manuscripts and 1.6 million printed books, many from pre-Christian and early Christian times. The Vatican publishes its own influential daily newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, and its press can print books and pamphlets in any of 30 languages, from old Ecclesiastical Georgian to Indian Tamil. Since 1983 the Vatican has produced its own television programming. Its radio broadcasts are heard in some 40 languages in many parts of the world. Vatican City was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984. Pop. (2011 est.) 832. This article was most recently revised and updated by Michael Ray. Stephen V (or VI) Table of Contents Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics For Students Christ as Ruler, with the Apostles and Evangelists (represented by the beasts). The female figures are believed to be either Santa Pudenziana and Santa Praxedes or symbols of the Jewish and Gentile churches. Mosaic in the apse of Santa Pudenziana, Rome,A Pop Quiz: 19 Things to Know About Christianity Quizzes Holy week. Easter. Valladolid. Procession of Nazarenos carry a cross during the Semana Santa (Holy week before Easter) in Valladolid, Spain. Good Friday Christianity Quiz Related Questions What is the difference between Christianity and Roman Catholicism? Who founded Roman Catholicism? What are the Roman Catholic sacraments? Why is Roman Catholicism so prominent in Latin America? Read Next Marriage. A couple getting married during a church wedding ceremony. (religion, ceremony, bride, groom) The Seven Sacraments of the Roman Catholic church Candles Burning On Table In Church What Is the Most Widely Practiced Religion in the World? Florence Baptistery of Saint John, Italy 9 Historic Buildings in Florence Colosseum, Rome, Italy. (Flavian Amphitheatre, arena) 19 Historic Buildings to Visit in Rome The three children, Jacinta, Francisco and Lucia, who saw the vision of Fatima in Portugal. Our lady of Fatima, saint, Christianity. Our Lady of Fátima Discover ribeye steak, beef, cow, meat How Oprah Got Sued for Dissing a Burger Wasp spider. Argiope bruennichi. Orb-weaver spider. Spiders. Arachnid. Cobweb. Spider web. Spider's web. Spider silk. Black and yellow striped wasp spider spinning a web. Do We Really Swallow Spiders in Our Sleep? Ahura Mazda - relief of the Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda at the ancient ruins of Persepolis in Iran. Also known as Ormazd Zoroastrianism, Which Religion Is the Oldest? Lake Issyk-kul kyrgyzstan 9 of the World’s Deepest Lakes The Colosseum, Rome, Italy.  Giant amphitheatre built in Rome under the Flavian emperors. (ancient architecture; architectural ruins) New Seven Wonders of the World Area 51 Gate What Is Known (and Not Known) About Area 51 Close-up of ostriches (Struthio camelus) necks and heads; location unknown. 6 of the World's Most Dangerous Birds Home Philosophy & Religion Religious Personages & Scholars Saints & Popes History & Society Stephen V (or VI) pope     Written and fact-checked by  Last Updated: Article History Category: History & Society Died: Sept. 14, 891, Rome Title / Office: pope (885-891) Stephen V (or VI), (born, Rome—died Sept. 14, 891, Rome), pope from 885 to 891 whose pontificate witnessed the disintegration of the Carolingian Empire and intermittent struggles for the Italian crown. Of noble birth, he was created cardinal by Pope Marinus I and was elected on May 17, 885, to succeed Pope St. Adrian III. Although consecrated on July 15, he was not accepted by the Holy Roman emperor Charles III the Fat, who dispatched a legate to depose him. Stephen’s election was canonical, however, and Charles acquiesced, shortly thereafter being deposed (November 887) himself by the East Franks under King Arnulf. Christ as Ruler, with the Apostles and Evangelists (represented by the beasts). The female figures are believed to be either Santa Pudenziana and Santa Praxedes or symbols of the Jewish and Gentile churches. Mosaic in the apse of Santa Pudenziana, Rome,A Britannica Quiz Pop Quiz: 19 Things to Know About Christianity Acting with utmost independence and authority, Stephen refused to recognize Photius as patriarch of Constantinople and encouraged the Byzantine emperor Basil I the Macedonian to depose him. Upon Basil’s death, Stephen repeated his request to the succeeding Byzantine emperor Leo VI the Wise, who exiled Photius in 886. Concurrently, Stephen unsuccessfully begged Leo for aid against the Saracens, who were attacking the Italian mainland. To alleviate a famine he used his father’s wealth, for the papal treasury was depleted. Against the Moravian Church, Stephen endorsed the prohibition of the Slavic liturgy that had been sanctioned by Pope John VIII, thus pushing the Slavs into accepting Eastern Orthodox Christianity. At that time Italy was convulsed by invading attacks from the Saracens in the south, the Hungarians in the north, and by internal wars among various margraves fighting for the sole rule of Italy. The Pope appealed to Arnulf for order, but the eastern Frankish king was not to descend into Italy until a similar request from Stephen’s successor Formosus in 894. In 888 Duke Guy of Spoleto had himself crowned as king of the French and in 889 as king of Italy. In 890 Stephen recognized Louis III the Blind as king of Provence. Although a partisan of Arnulf, Stephen, probably out of fear, crowned Guy as Holy Roman emperor on Feb. 21, 891. Nicholas II Table of Contents Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics Images Nicholas II For Students Christ as Ruler, with the Apostles and Evangelists (represented by the beasts). The female figures are believed to be either Santa Pudenziana and Santa Praxedes or symbols of the Jewish and Gentile churches. Mosaic in the apse of Santa Pudenziana, Rome,A Pop Quiz: 19 Things to Know About Christianity Nicholas II summary Quizzes Holy week. Easter. Valladolid. Procession of Nazarenos carry a cross during the Semana Santa (Holy week before Easter) in Valladolid, Spain. Good Friday Christianity Quiz Related Questions What is the difference between Christianity and Roman Catholicism? Who founded Roman Catholicism? What are the Roman Catholic sacraments? Why is Roman Catholicism so prominent in Latin America? Should election day be made a national holiday? Read Next Artwork for themes for Pro-Con articles. Pro and Con: Voting Machines Marriage. A couple getting married during a church wedding ceremony. (religion, ceremony, bride, groom) The Seven Sacraments of the Roman Catholic church Candles Burning On Table In Church What Is the Most Widely Practiced Religion in the World? Election - Button that says Vote. Badge pin stars and stripes politics campaign Why Are U.S. Elections Held on Tuesdays? Artwork for themes for Pro-Con articles. Pro and Con: Election Day Holiday Discover ribeye steak, beef, cow, meat How Oprah Got Sued for Dissing a Burger Ahura Mazda - relief of the Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda at the ancient ruins of Persepolis in Iran. Also known as Ormazd Zoroastrianism, Which Religion Is the Oldest? Encyclopaedia Britannica First Edition: Volume 1, Plate XXXVIII, Figure 2, Ark, Ark of the Covenant, a small chest, coffer, contains Aaron's rod, manna pot, tables of covenant, Schechinah, Divine Presence, oracle, shittim-wood, acacia tree Where Is the Ark of the Covenant? Wasp spider. Argiope bruennichi. Orb-weaver spider. Spiders. Arachnid. Cobweb. Spider web. Spider's web. Spider silk. Black and yellow striped wasp spider spinning a web. Do We Really Swallow Spiders in Our Sleep? Scottish fold cat. A genetic mutation caused (in the original cat-1961) the ears to bend forward and down. Shorthair Cat Breeds Lake Issyk-kul kyrgyzstan 9 of the World’s Deepest Lakes Ruminant. Deer. Red deer. Cervus elaphus. Buck. Stag. Antlers. 9 of the World’s Deadliest Mammals Home Philosophy & Religion Religious Personages & Scholars Saints & Popes History & Society Nicholas II pope      Also known as: Gérard de Bourgogne, Gerard of Burgundy Written by  Fact-checked by  Last Updated: Article History Nicholas II Nicholas II See all media Category: History & Society Original name: Gerard of Burgundy French: Gérard de Bourgogne Born: Burgundy [France] Died: July 1061, Florence [Italy] Title / Office: pope (1058-1061) Subjects Of Study: election papacy Role In: Gregorian Reform Nicholas II, (born Burgundy [France]—died July 1061, Florence [Italy]), pope from 1059 to 1061, a major figure in the Gregorian Reform. Born in a region near Cluny, Gerard was most likely exposed to the reformist zeal of the monastery there. As bishop of Florence from 1045, he imposed the canonical life on the priests of his diocese. His efforts at reform were first steps toward the more dramatic legislation he would implement as pope. Christ as Ruler, with the Apostles and Evangelists (represented by the beasts). The female figures are believed to be either Santa Pudenziana and Santa Praxedes or symbols of the Jewish and Gentile churches. Mosaic in the apse of Santa Pudenziana, Rome,A Britannica Quiz Pop Quiz: 19 Things to Know About Christianity His election as pope was a complicated affair that revealed the challenges facing the papacy. When Pope Stephen IX (or X; 1057–58) fell ill, he requested that no election of a successor be held until his legate Hildebrand (later Pope Gregory VII) returned from Germany. At Stephen’s death, however, the powerful Tusculani family orchestrated the election of John Mincius, bishop of Velletri, as Benedict X, though only two cardinals participated in the voting; the other cardinals, including Peter Damian, had left Rome for Florence. Damian’s departure was most damaging to Benedict’s succession because, as bishop of Ostia, Damian was responsible for consecrating the new pope. In Siena the cardinals, under the influence of Hildebrand, elected Gerard pope in December 1058. The king in Germany, Henry IV, and Duke Godfrey of Lorraine, the leading power in northern Italy and brother of Stephen IX, were notified of the election, and Gerard gained their support as a result. He was escorted to Rome by Godfrey and the German chancellor for Italy, Wibert of Ravenna (later antipope Clement [III]). On the way to Rome, Gerard convened a council at Sutri that declared Benedict deposed; Benedict fled Rome, and Gerard assumed the papal throne as Nicholas II on January 24, 1059. Nicholas faced a number of problems, including issues raised by the irregularity of his own election. At his first council, held in the Lateran at Easter in 1059, Nicholas issued a decree on papal elections, which was intended to prevent interference by the nobility and to regularize the succession. He assigned a leading role to the seven cardinal bishops, who were to choose a suitable candidate and then summon the other cardinals. The remaining clergy and the people of Rome were to acclaim the choice; the right of the emperor to confirm the election was recognized, though it was not accepted as hereditary and had to be confirmed by the pope when the new emperor took the throne. Although the decree caused tension between Rome and the German court, which circulated its own version, Nicholas’s reform was an important step toward establishing the independence of the church. At the Lateran synod Nicholas also promoted the reform agenda initiated by Leo IX in 1049. The council prohibited simony and lay investiture, declaring that no priest or cleric could accept a church from a layman. Nicholas and the council also forbade clerical marriage and concubinage; masses celebrated by priests with wives or mistresses were to be boycotted, and married priests were not to perform the mass or hold church benefices. Supporting the goals of the Gregorian Reform movement, the synod also extended papal protection to the persons and property of pilgrims and gave papal sanction to the Peace of God and Truce of God movements, which promoted religious reform and sought to restrict warfare and protect clerics and other noncombatants in times of war. It was also at the council that Berengar of Tours was forced to renounce his teachings on the Eucharist. The Lateran council was only one of Nicholas’s achievements as pope. He sent legates to resolve the crisis in Milan brought about by the Patarine movement, which had challenged the established social order, clerical corruption, and the practice of clerical marriage. Of even greater consequence was his revolutionary decision to forge an alliance with the Normans in southern Italy. At the council of Melfi in August 1059, Nicholas invested Robert Guiscard as duke of Apulia, Calabria, and Sicily and Richard of Aversa as prince of Capua, making them vassals of Rome. Both princes swore an oath of fealty to the pope and promised aid. Robert also swore to help Nicholas regain control of papal territories, to preserve Nicholas in office, and to aid the cardinals in future papal elections. Nicholas derived great benefit from the alliance; the Normans even captured Benedict and presented him to the pope in 1060. Are you a student? Get Britannica Premium for only $24.95 - a 67% discount! The alliance with the Normans led to tensions with the German ruler, whose claims to Italian territory and traditional right to protect the pope were undermined. Shortly before the pope’s death in 1061, the German bishops declared all Nicholas’s decrees void and broke off relations with Rome. The break may have been precipitated by the Norman alliance, by Nicholas’s restatement of the prohibitions against simony and clerical marriage, or by conflict with the archbishop of Cologne; the exact cause remains uncertain, but the cooling of relations would have serious consequences. Nicholas’s short but eventful reign left a profound mark on the medieval church and papacy. Michael Frassetto St. Martin I Table of Contents Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics For Students Christ as Ruler, with the Apostles and Evangelists (represented by the beasts). The female figures are believed to be either Santa Pudenziana and Santa Praxedes or symbols of the Jewish and Gentile churches. Mosaic in the apse of Santa Pudenziana, Rome,A Pop Quiz: 19 Things to Know About Christianity Quizzes Holy week. Easter. Valladolid. Procession of Nazarenos carry a cross during the Semana Santa (Holy week before Easter) in Valladolid, Spain. Good Friday Christianity Quiz Related Questions What is the difference between Christianity and Roman Catholicism? Who founded Roman Catholicism? What are the Roman Catholic sacraments? Why is Roman Catholicism so prominent in Latin America? Read Next Marriage. A couple getting married during a church wedding ceremony. (religion, ceremony, bride, groom) The Seven Sacraments of the Roman Catholic church Candles Burning On Table In Church What Is the Most Widely Practiced Religion in the World? The three children, Jacinta, Francisco and Lucia, who saw the vision of Fatima in Portugal. Our lady of Fatima, saint, Christianity. Our Lady of Fátima Agnes with a lamb near her feet. St. Agnes (Saint Agnes) design drawing for stained glass window by J&R Lamb Studios, ink, mount size 10.5 x 14.5 in. Roman Catholic Saints Saint Francis Xavier baptizing the infidels by an unknown painter, 18th century; in the collection of the Museo Nacional de Arte, Mexico City, Mexico. How did St. Francis Xavier shape Catholicism? Discover Ruminant. Deer. Red deer. Cervus elaphus. Buck. Stag. Antlers. 9 of the World’s Deadliest Mammals Nativity Scene, Adoration of the Magi, Church of the Birth of the Virgin Mary, Montenegro Why Is Christmas in December? Shadow of a man holding large knife in his hand inside of some dark, spooky buiding 7 of History's Most Notorious Serial Killers  Demystified - Do Lemmings Really Commit Mass Suicide? illustration Do Lemmings Really Commit Mass Suicide? Illustration for Demystified "Spontaneous human combustion". Is Spontaneous Human Combustion Real? ribeye steak, beef, cow, meat How Oprah Got Sued for Dissing a Burger Wasp spider. Argiope bruennichi. Orb-weaver spider. Spiders. Arachnid. Cobweb. Spider web. Spider's web. Spider silk. Black and yellow striped wasp spider spinning a web. Do We Really Swallow Spiders in Our Sleep? Home Philosophy & Religion Religious Personages & Scholars Saints & Popes History & Society St. Martin I pope      Written and fact-checked by  Last Updated: Article History Category: History & Society Died: September 16, 655, Cherson, Crimea [now Kherson, Ukraine] Title / Office: pope (649-655) Role In: First Lateran Council St. Martin I, (born, Todi, Tuscany [Italy]—died September 16, 655, Cherson, Crimea [now Kherson, Ukraine]; feast day April 13), pope from 649 to 653. St. Martin I is recognized as a saint and martyr in both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Martin succeeded Theodore I in July 649. Martin’s pontificate occurred during an extensive controversy that had strained relations between the Eastern and Western churches—namely monothelitism, a heresy maintaining that Christ had only one will. To bring an end to the controversy, Martin convoked and presided over the Lateran Council of 649 that condemned monothelitism and the Typos, an order by the Byzantine emperor Constans II Pogonatus that forbade discussion of Christ’s wills. Constans, who had not approved Martin’s election, ordered the pope’s arrest in 653. Martin was taken to Constantinople in September 654, where he was publicly humiliated and tortured. In May 655 he was banished to the Crimean Peninsula. Weakened by his imprisonment, he died shortly thereafter. He was later recognized as a martyr, the last pope to be so honoured. Christ as Ruler, with the Apostles and Evangelists (represented by the beasts). The female figures are believed to be either Santa Pudenziana and Santa Praxedes or symbols of the Jewish and Gentile churches. Mosaic in the apse of Santa Pudenziana, Rome,A Britannica Quiz Pop Quiz: 19 Things to Know About Christianity This article was most recently revised and updated by Melissa Petruzzello. Julius II Table of Contents Introduction Early life Political activities Patron of the arts Legacy References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics Images Julius II, contemporary medallionMichelangelo: Moses For Students Christ as Ruler, with the Apostles and Evangelists (represented by the beasts). The female figures are believed to be either Santa Pudenziana and Santa Praxedes or symbols of the Jewish and Gentile churches. Mosaic in the apse of Santa Pudenziana, Rome,A Pop Quiz: 19 Things to Know About Christianity Julius II summary Quizzes Holy week. Easter. Valladolid. Procession of Nazarenos carry a cross during the Semana Santa (Holy week before Easter) in Valladolid, Spain. Good Friday Christianity Quiz Related Questions What is the difference between Christianity and Roman Catholicism? Who founded Roman Catholicism? What are the Roman Catholic sacraments? Why is Roman Catholicism so prominent in Latin America? Read Next Marriage. 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Home Philosophy & Religion Religious Personages & Scholars Saints & Popes History & Society Julius II pope      Also known as: Giuliano della Rovere Written by  Fact-checked by  Last Updated: Dec 1, 2023 • Article History Category: History & Society Original name: Giuliano della Rovere Born: Dec. 5, 1443, Albisola, Republic of Genoa Died: Feb. 21, 1513, Rome (aged 69) Title / Office: pope (1503-1513) Role In: Fifth Lateran Council Julius II (born Dec. 5, 1443, Albisola, Republic of Genoa—died Feb. 21, 1513, Rome) greatest art patron of the papal line (reigned 1503–13) and one of the most powerful rulers of his age. Although he led military efforts to prevent French Italydomination of , Julius is most important for his close friendship with Michelangelo and for his patronage of other artists, including Bramante and Raphael. He commissioned Michelangelo’s Moses and paintings in the Sistine Chapel and Raphael’s frescoes in the Vatican. Early life Giuliano was the son of the impoverished Rafaello della Rovere, Pope Sixtus IV’s only brother. In 1468 he became a Franciscan, and in 1471 Sixtus IV made him a cardinal. In this office Giuliano displayed all of the attributes of cupidity and corruption of an unscrupulous Renaissance prince. The Pope lavished on him six bishoprics in France and three in Italy along with an abundance of wealthy abbeys and benefices. The Cardinal, who lacked any interest in spiritual pursuits, became an outstanding patron of the arts. He is shown with his protégés in Melozzo da Forlì’s superb fresco of Sixtus IV in the Vatican Museum. After the death of Sixtus IV, for whom Giuliano commissioned a bronze sepulchre by Antonio Pollaiuolo, now in the Vatican Grotto of St. Peter’s, the Cardinal’s candidate, the weak Innocent VIII, was elected through bribery. When Rodrigo Borgia, elected pope as Alexander VI in 1492, plotted Giuliano’s assassination, Giuliano fled in 1494 to the court of Charles VIII of France. He accompanied the French king on his expedition against Naples in the hope that Charles would also depose Alexander VI. After accompanying Charles on his forced return to France, Giuliano took part in Louis XII’s invasion of Italy in 1502. Alexander VI twice attempted to seize him. Following the death of the Borgia pope in 1503, Giuliano returned to Rome, having been 10 years in exile, and, after Pius III’s brief pontificate, was, with the liberal help of simony, elected Pope Julius II in October 1503. Immediately after his election he decreed that all future simoniacal papal elections would be invalid and subject to penalty. Christ as Ruler, with the Apostles and Evangelists (represented by the beasts). The female figures are believed to be either Santa Pudenziana and Santa Praxedes or symbols of the Jewish and Gentile churches. Mosaic in the apse of Santa Pudenziana, Rome,A Britannica Quiz Pop Quiz: 19 Things to Know About Christianity Political activities Julius II, contemporary medallion Julius II, contemporary medallion Julius II, contemporary medallion; in the coin collection of the Vatican Library Julius II viewed as the main task of his pontificate the restoration of the Papal States, which had been reduced to ruin by the Borgias. Large portions of it had been appropriated by Venice after Alexander VI’s death. As a first step as pope, Julius subjugated Perugia and Bologna in the autumn of 1508. Then, in March 1509, he joined the League of Cambrai, an anti-Venetian alliance formed in December 1508 between Louis XII, who then ruled Milan, Emperor Maximilian I, and Ferdinand II of Spain, who had been king of Naples since 1503. The league troops defeated Venice in May 1509 near Cremona, and the Papal States were restored. Having become an exponent of Italian national consciousness, Julius II proposed to drive the French from Italy, but his second war, which lasted from September 1510 to May 1511, was unsuccessful. Several cardinals defected to Louis XII and called a schismatic council, to which Julius responded by summoning the fifth Lateran Council. After concluding an alliance with Venice and Ferdinand II of Spain and Naples in October 1511, he opened the council in May 1512 at the Lateran Palace. Louis XII had defeated the troops of the alliance at Ravenna in April 1512, but the situation changed when Swiss troops were sent to the Pope’s aid. The territories in northern Italy occupied by the French revolted, the French left the country, and the Papal States were augmented by the acquisition of Parma and Piacenza. Toward the end of his life, he viewed with concern the replacement of French by Spanish efforts to attain supremacy in Italy. Julius II was Italy’s saviour. Are you a student? Get Britannica Premium for only $24.95 - a 67% discount! Patron of the arts The enduring impact of the life of Julius II stemmed from his gift for inspiring great artistic creations. His name is closely linked with those of such great artists as Bramante, Raphael, and Michelangelo. With his wealth of visionary ideas, he contributed to their creativity. Following an overall plan, he added many fine buildings to Rome and laid the groundwork in the Vatican Museum for the world’s greatest collection of antiquities. Among the innumerable Italian churches that benefitted from his encouragement of the arts was Sta. Maria del Popolo in Rome, for which he commissioned Andrea Sansovino to create sepulchres for a number of cardinals and Pinturicchio to paint the frescoes in the apse. Donato Bramante became the architect of Julius’ fortifications in Latium, of the two galleries that form the Belvedere Court, and of other Vatican buildings. Around 1503 the Pope conceived the idea of building a new basilica of St. Peter, the first model of which Bramante created. Its foundation stone was laid on April 18, 1506. The Pope’s friendship with Michelangelo, begun in 1506, was enduring despite recurrent strains imposed on their relations by the two overly similar personalities. Their relationship was so close that the Pope became, in fact, Michelangelo’s intellectual collaborator. Of Julius’ tomb only the Moses in the church of S. Pietro in Vincoli, in Rome, was completed; the Pope is, however, not interred there but in St. Peter’s, along with the remains of Sixtus IV. The famous bronze statue of the Pope for the church of S. Petronio in Bologna, completed in 1508, was destroyed in 1511. In 1508 Michelangelo was prevailed upon by Julius to begin his paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, which were unveiled in October 1512. The paintings, which represent a climax in Western art, were, in form and conception, a product of the artistic symbiosis of Michelangelo and the Pope. By 1509 Raphael, introduced to Julius, had begun his masterpieces for the Pope, the frescoes in three rooms of the Vatican. Spiritual references to the person and the pontificate of Julius II are evident in one of the rooms (the Stanza della Segnatura), where earthly and celestial wisdom are juxtaposed in the School of Athens and the Disputa, while the beauty of creativity is represented in the Parnassus. The theme of another room (the Stanza d’Eliodoro), which could be called a transcendental “political” biography of the Pope, is still more personal. The Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple symbolizes the expulsion of the French and the subjugation of all the church’s enemies, with Julius II depicted witnessing the scene from his portable throne. Closely related to this is the Liberation of St. Peter, in which light and darkness serve to symbolize the historic events of the pontificate. The third great fresco in this room, the Mass of Bolsena, shows the Pope kneeling, rather than enthroned, in commemoration of his veneration of the corporale (communion cloth) of Bolsena in the cathedral of Orvieto. In addition to these fresco portraits, there is one by Raphael in the Uffizi gallery in Florence, one of the masterpieces of portraiture, which shows the Pope not as the victorious Moses springing to his feet, as Michelangelo portrayed him, but as a resigned, pensive old man at the end of an adventurous, embattled life. Michelangelo’s chalk drawing of the Pope in the Uffizi gallery approaches it in quality. As cardinal, Julius II fathered at least one illegitimate daughter, Felice. He made four members of the Della Rovere family cardinals, only one of whom achieved any importance. From the marriage of the Pope’s only brother, Giovanni, to the daughter and heiress of Duke Federigo of Montefeltro descended the dukes of Urbino. The Pope added wisely to the church’s treasures. Although he had little of the priest in him, he was concerned toward the end only with the church’s grandeur. He wished for greatness for the papacy rather than for the pope, and he wished for peace in Italy. The Swiss historian Jacob Burckhardt called him the “saviour of the papacy,” because Alexander VI had greatly endangered its existence for the sake of his family interests. Legacy of Julius II Julius had an extraordinarily violent temper, often lost his self-control, and could be rude and often even vulgar in manner. Yet, apart from the avarice and corruption inherent in his office and time as much as in himself, he was incapable of baseness and vindictiveness and despised informers and flatterers; no one was able to influence his decisions. Everywhere he saw and sought out greatness. He lacked the smooth manners of the servile. His faults arose from his relentless candour and uncontrollable temper. He was called terrible, an epithet suggesting that he was regarded as sublime, even superhuman.
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