ROME CIVITAS

Rome has been selected by Roberto Amati in relation to the real history of european integration, then enlisted in the CITY OR CIVITAS category, accompanied by own fact SHEET useful to the comprehension, completed of historical MAPS AND IMAGES or with a direct linking to the related Blog contents dedicated to the the aeternitas and the future of Europe.

Rome is one of the most ancient cities of the history of European integration signed in great part by Christianity. How old is Rome? The legendary foundation of the Civitas Rome is in 753 B.C. by Romans on the Tiber river under the rule of its first king Romulus, for myth a son of god Ares and directly descendant of Aeneas (the Trojan hero son of the goddess Venus escaped to Italy at the end of the Troy war) married to a daughter of Evander, the son of the god Hermes and founder of Pallantium, the πόλις of Latins: the first site of ancient Rome was on the Palatine Hill, into the squared area marked by Romulus called pomerium and sacred to god Zeus (the father of the Olympian gods from Greece), inhabited by Romans and Latins. Rome initially was a kingdom ruled by Romans and Sabine kings (the two people joined after a women rape) but was transformed in Roman Respublica in 509 B.C.: that was an oligarchic regime ruled by the aristocratic families (Gens) and several administrators (Magisters) elected annually, that moved wars to Etruscans and all other Italics people around to complete the conquest of the Italian peninsula from the central regions down to the Magna Graecia within III century B.C..

Then Rome began international wars against Chartage, Greeks and Celts until could control quite the whole coasts of the Mediterranean sea (at that point called mare nostrum), becaming the starting point of many roman ways built to reach easily and rapidly by its Legios all the possessions within the Limes: the Old Appia way passing through Capua, Benevento and Taranto to end in Brindisi, the most important port towards East; the Popilia way passing through Tusculum, Capua, and Salerno ending in Regium, where could pass the sea and reach the Sicily province and from there all the Western Mediterranean sea points; the Aurelia way passing through Luni (at the crossing with the Cassia way passing through Florence) to reach Genoa and the Gallia provinces; the Flaminia way directed to Rimini at the starting point of the Sucinaria way passing through Ravenna and Aquileia to reach the Noricum provincia; the Aemilia way passing through Bologna up to Piacenza and from there towards Northern Italy and all the others provinces over the Alps. For that reason was coined the motto "all the routes go to Rome", because the urbs was at the centre of the political, economic and militar system of the roman provinces, origin of the right, education and philosophy such important that highly influented the European continent, still today regarded as the cradle of the Western civilty.

During the Civil War of I century B.C., Rome expanded over its possessions up to Egypt, Anatolia and Middle East regions, including the Noah people and the rest of Greeks, Illyrians and Iberians tribes within its boarders, so that the reform of Augustus made Rome became capital of the Roman Empire and of the Regio I Latium et Campania of the Italiae province, where could live together Romans, Italics, Celts and Jewish people: this meant in terms of religion the cohexistence of the Roman pantheon gods (at that time was built the famous Pantheon monument still existing!) together with the Celtic sun-god and other ancient rithes, such us the Sybil miysteries of Cumae and the Jews religion, added by the martial cult of Mithras and the Christianity, from the I century A.D.. Rome hosted the persecutions that executed Sts. Peter and Paulus (there began the fame of the Colosseum amphitheatre, still recognized as universal symbol of Rome!), founders of the first city christian community and leaders of the Catholics Church of Rome, ruled by the city bishop became the 'Pope'.

At the epoch of the Nero reign there have been the first persecutions against the Christians and Rome went destroyed by a 'the Great Fire of 64 A.D.' and rebuilt with marble: the imperial palace on the Palatine hill, the numerous basilicas and public buildings in the Forum area, the great city baths of Caracalla and Diocletian, the Domus Area villa, the Trajan's markets and the several imperial monumental which are still visible today in the ancient city centre. The caput mundi civitas became the most important, rich and crowded city of Europe and the Mediterranean area, where could live together people coming from all sides of the empire and foreigners, such as the Jewish escaped after the great diaspora following the destruction of their temple in Jerusalem. But since III century A.D. the golden age of Rome ended: the crisis of the empire, divided and contended by its generals, moved the capital to Milan and reduced the taxis earnings in Rome, that was the seat of the decisive battle of Constantine I rise for power, after what he founded the Christian Empire and moved definitely the capital to Costantinople in 330 A.D.. At that time, Rome became seat of the imperial Italiae Diocesis and obtained the rank of metropolitan archibishopric, becouse of its originary christian community now controlled by the aristocratic class (the ancient Gens), and started the 'new life' of the urbs aeterna as capital of the Papacy leading Christianity in all the empire.

Once definitely divided the imperium in 2 parts, the capital of Western Roman Empire was moved to Ravenna in 408 A.D. so that Rome remained undifended when the Visigoths sacked the city and stole its treasury, imitated some decades after by the Vandals that decided the election of new emperors until the deposition of the last one in 476 A.D.. At that time, the population of Rome was halved and so its richness, cause of the grain shipments interruption from the lost provinces of Africa and Egypt: remained saved the great christian basilicas and churches still visible today (Saint Peter, Saint John Lateran, Saint Paul outside the wall, Santa Maria Maggiore and San Clemente), the ancient fortifications and the roman temples and buildings. Things went wrong when Ostrogoths invaded Italy and the successive Greek-Gothic War, when Rome became part of the Exarchate of Ravenna controlled directly by the Eastern emperors from Costantinople, so beginning the long religious conflict that, in the end, brough to the 'great schism' of the Ortodox Church in 1054 A.D. and the isolation of the Papacy in Western Empire: especially when the Lombards conquered Italy in 568 A.D. and Rome continued to elige its Pope but was completely sieged by the Lombards regna. At that point, Rome was saved and protected by Pope Gregory I, who expanded the presence of Christianity in the Western Empire and built the monastir on the Celio hill, still existing.

Since that epoch, that marked the beginning of Middle Ages, Rome slowly fell under the political control of the Roman Catholic Church in late VIII century A.D. since when the Lombard's possessions were conquered by Charlemagne and assigned to Regnum Italiae, while the byzantine possessions in Italy were joined to the Patrimonium Petri and administered by the 'papaline families' for centuries! Under the rule of Popes but submitted to the emperors power, Rome spent centuries in scandals and wars among the clerical class, that continued to grew rich and strongness cause of the immense possessions and donations all over Europe and the strong relations with the Christian European royal dinasties, obliged by the election rite of crowning and the formal roles defined by Papacy. The conflict against Reich Empire emperors for the 'investiture controversy' brough to the occupation of Rome by the emperor Henry IV and successively by the Normans that sacked and burned the city in late XII century A.D.. Afterthat started the new power of Papacy against the 'Comune' trying in Rome and the Reich emperors of the Staufer dinasty, by leading the 'Italian Comuni's League' and the 'Guelfi' alliance all over Europe that revolted the political system power until the end of XX century A.D.!

Free from the Reich control, Rome became capital of the Church State in 1378 A.D,, after the 'western schism' caused by the France king that hosted the Papacy in Avignone, against the 'counter-Popes' seated in Rome, until 1417 A.D. when the division ended: in that period Rome was provided of the first University La Sapienza and built the main families palaces, new fortifications and walls, the Vatican city and Castel Sant'Angelo alteration to a fortress. With the Renaissance epoque, the popes pursued a coherent architectural and urban programme over 400 years making Rome the artistic and cultural centre of the world: it became the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism, financing the most famous artists, painters, sculptors, and architects who made Rome the centre of their activity, creating masterpieces throughout the city such as the new Saint Peter Basilica, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the Beccaccia Fontain in Piazza di Spagna, 'the Moses' sculpture in the San Pietro in Vincoli church, the Trevi Fountain, the Ponte dei Quattro Capi or the Ponte Sant'Angelo on the Tiber river, just to give same examples.

In 1871 A.D. Rome was invaded by Savoy troups and became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy and following Italian Republic, while the Papacy retired into the Vatican State citadel that still today is the seat of the Saint Peter's church and centre of the Catholic Christianity, while Rome is seat of many specialised agencies of the United Nations, such as the F.A.O., the W.F.P. and the I.F.A.D. and also hosts the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean. Rome hosted many Jubilees of Christianity, almost every 25 or 50 years, to call all christian pilgrims to redemption, while in 1957 A.D. held the conferences that signed the E.E.C. and Euratom treaties on which is founded the European Union organization. Nowadays, 'the Historic Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in that City enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San Paolo Fuori le Mura' are enlisted in the UNESCO World Heritage and Rome is the biggest city and capital of Italy, capital of the Lazio region and of Rome capital metropolitan city, whose patron are Sts. Peter and Paulus, founders of the ancient christian community and leaders of the Catholics Church.

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