The Eternal City

Long ago, the god Mars is said to have fathered twins with the priestess Rhea Silvia. They were named Romulus and Remus. But King Amulius ordered that they be set adrift on the River Tiber in a wicker basket. They floated to the riverbank. Their cries attracted a she-wolf, who suckled them. Eventually, a shepherd discovered the children. He took them into his family and raised them.

When they were young men, the king gave them permission to found a city where they had been driven ashore. After an argument, Romulus dug a furrow.

It was to determine the size of the city. He immediately began building a city wall. But his brother mocked him and jumped over the wall, which was still very low. Romulus flew into a furious rage and killed his brother, saying: “May the same happen to anyone who jumps over my walls.”

This supposedly happened on April 21 in the year 753 BC. Today, Rome is the capital of Italy. It is considered one of the oldest cities in the world and is sometimes called the “Eternal City”. Even today, you can see evidence everywhere of the time when it was the capital of the Roman Empire.

Rome is a lively, modern city with a population of about 2.9 million. But even 2,000 years ago, Rome had more than 1 million inhabitants. Drinking water flowed into the city through stone channels known as aqueducts. There was a sewage system and a network of paved roads. The heart of the city was the Forum Romanum.

Originally, this was a marshy area in a valley between the hills of the Capitoline, Palatine and Esquiline. After a large sewer, the Cloaca Maxima, was built, the marsh could be drained and built over. A marketplace was created here, where major events were also held. The square was called the Roman Forum.

In the time of Emperor Augustus, the Roman Forum was considered the center of the world. It was a magnificent square surrounded by buildings made of precious marble and travertine. No one was allowed to enter the Forum unless they wore a toga, the most important garment worn by upper-class Romans. It was made from a single piece of fabric, about 6 meters long and 2½ meters wide, wrapped around the body in a particular way. Although women took part in social life and could, for example, pursue professions, politics was strictly a man’s business.

Not far from the Forum Romanum, the enormous Colosseum was built and completed in 80 AD. Around 50,000 spectators could watch brutal gladiator fights, battles between people and animals or between animals, and even naval battles. The events were hosted by members of the imperial family. Admission was free. However, only citizens with Roman citizenship were allowed to enter. The gladiators were slaves.

Work in the townhouses and fields was also carried out by slaves. In Rome, slaves originally included people who could not pay their debts. Later, they were often members of other peoples conquered by the legions of the Roman emperors. Their descendants also had to live as slaves.

Enslaved people were bought and sold in markets. Prices varied considerably. Educated enslaved people were especially expensive, and might work as teachers, for example. Beautiful enslaved women and men also fetched high prices. Around 15 to 25 percent of the people living in the Roman Empire were enslaved.

The Romans worshipped numerous gods, many of whom they had adopted from the Greeks. They simply gave them different names. Twelve gods were especially revered.

The supreme god was Jupiter (Greek Zeus), the father of the gods, who, according to Roman belief, commanded thunder and lightning. His wife Juno (Hera) was regarded as the goddess of the family; weddings, marriages and childbirth were under her protection.

Neptune (Poseidon) was the god of the sea and earthquakes. Minerva (Athena) was associated with wisdom, the arts and sciences, as well as agriculture and crafts. Mars (Ares) was considered the god of war and battles, Venus (Aphrodite) the goddess of love and beauty, and Apollo the god of poetry and light.

Diana (Artemis) was invoked before the hunt, Vulcan (Hephaestus) controlled the volcanoes, Vesta (Hestia) was worshipped as the goddess of the hearth fire, and Ceres (Demeter) was responsible for the fertility of the soil. Mercury (Hermes) was seen as the messenger whom the gods sometimes sent to the people, but he was also considered the god of thieves, trade and travellers. Gilded statues of all these gods stood in the Roman Forum.

The Pantheon was built in their honor under Emperor Hadrian. This structure consists of a covered hall and a circular building with a huge dome measuring 43.45 meters in diameter.

From around AD 600, the city of Rome was ruled by the popes. They considered themselves the heads of the Catholic Church, but they also governed a state known as the Papal States. It included the city of Rome and large areas of what is now Italy. In 1870, the Papal States were reduced to the Vatican, an area within the city of Rome.

In terms of area, the Vatican is the smallest country in the world. Today, it has only about 600 residents. The Pope is the head of state of the Vatican. Its official language is Latin, which was also spoken in the Roman Empire. St. Peter’s Basilica is the center of the Vatican.

This cathedral is one of the largest churches in Christendom. It is said to have been built over the tomb of the Apostle Peter. The Vatican also includes St Peter’s Square in front of the basilica, the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, as well as the palaces and gardens within the Vatican walls.

In the past, the Papal States were repeatedly involved in wars. Rome was besieged several times. The popes then sought refuge in Castel Sant’Angelo, which had once served as the mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian and his successors. The popes had it converted into a fortress. It is connected to the papal palace by an 800-metre-long passageway.

Another building in the city looks like the old buildings, but is much newer. The "Vittoriano" commemorates the Italian king Victor Emmanuel II and the founding of the Italian state in 1861.

Italy was unified at that time. Initially, it was ruled by a king. The monarchy was abolished after the end of the Second World War. Italy has been a republic since 1946. The country is now led by an elected president and a government headed by a prime minister. Parliament passes the laws.

It consists of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. The President of the Italian Republic carries out his official duties from a palace on the Quirinal, one of the seven hills on which the city of Rome was built.

Even during the Roman Empire, the city of Rome had a good supply of drinking water. Water flowed into the city from the mountains through long aqueducts and was distributed to many fountains. One of the best known is the Trevi Fountain. It is 26 m high and 50 m wide.

There are many squares in Rome where public life takes place, including Piazza Venezia, Piazza Farnese, Campo de'l Fiori, Piazza del Popolo and Piazza Navona.

The city has residential areas and markets, elegant shopping streets, schools, hospitals and everything a modern metropolis needs.

The Tiber is 405 km long, making it Italy’s third-longest river after the Po and the Adige. It flows right through the city.

This was very practical in the past, as it allowed the Romans to discharge the city’s wastewater into the river via the Cloaca Maxima, the city’s sewer. Even today, the Tiber is not exactly a clean river. Nevertheless, a boat trip is a lovely experience.

There are many more interesting buildings, museums, squares and churches in Rome. The best thing is to go there and explore the city for yourself.