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 entire history of european integration 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. The Civitas Rome was founded in 753 BC by Romans on the river Tiber 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 son of the god Hermes and founder of Pallantium 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 Romana Res Pulica in 509 BC: it was an oligarchic regime ruled by the aristocratic families (Gens) and several annual elected administrators (Magisters) that moved wars to Etruscans and all the Italics people around to complete the conquest of the Italian peninsula from the central area down to Magna Graecia within III century BC. Then Rome began international wars against Chartage, Greeks and Celts until could control quite the whole coasts of Mediterranean sea (then called mare nostrum). Rome became 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 the East; the Popilia way passing through Tusculum, Capua, and Salerno ending in Reggio Calabria where could pass the sea and reach the Sicily province and from there all the Western Mediterranean sea points; the Aurelia way passing through Luna (at the crossing with the Cassia way passing through Florence) to reach Genoa and the Gallia Narbonensis province; the Flaminia way to Rimini at the starting point of the Sucinaria way passing through Ravenna and Aquileia to reach the Noricum provincia and the Aemilia way passing through Bologna up to Piacenza and from there towards Northern Italy, Gallia Lugdunensis and alla the others provinces. For that reason was coined the motto "all the routes go to Rome", became the urbs at the centre of the political, economic and militar system of roman provinces, the origin of the right, education and philosophy such important that highly influented the European continent, still today regarded as the cradle of Western civilization.

During the civil war in I century BC, Rome expanded over its possessions up to Egypt, Anatolia and Middle East regions, including the Noah people and the rest of Greeks, Illirics 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 included into 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 AD. Rome hosted the persecutions that executed Sts. Peter and Paulus (there began the fame of the Colosseum amphitheatre, still the 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".

During the Nero reign there have been the first persecutions against the Christians and Rome was destroyed by a "the Great Fire" in 64 AD and rebuilt with marble: the emperial palace on the Palatine hill, the numerous basilica 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 fora 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 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 AD the golden age of Rome ended: the crisis of the empire, divided and contented 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 campain for power, who founded the Christian Empire and moved definitely the capital to Costantinople in 330 AD. So Rome became the seat of the imperiale Italiae Diocesis and obtained the rank of metropolitan archbishop, becouse of its originary christian community now controlled by the aristocratic class (ancient Gens). There started the "new life" of the urbs aeterna as capital of the Papacy leading Christianity in all the empire.

Once definitely divided in two parts the empire, the new capital of Western Roman Empire was moved to Ravenna in 408 AD 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 AD. 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 Gothic War, when Rome became part of the the Exarchate of Ravenna controlled directly by the Eastern emperors from Costantinople, beginning a long religious conflict that, in the end, brough the "great schism" of the Ortodox Church in 1054 AD and the isolation of the Papacy in Western Empire, especially when the Lombards conquered Italy in 568 AD and Rome continued to elige its Pope but was completely sieged by the Lombards reign. In that epoch 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, which marked the beginning of the Middle Ages, Rome slowly fell under the political control of the Papacy in late VIII century AD since when the Lombard reign was conquered by Charlemagne and assigned to Italy Regnum, 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 Reich 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 emperors for the "investiture controversy" brough to the occupation of Rome by emperor Henry IV and successively by the Normans that sacked and burned the city in late XII century AD. Afterthat started the new power of Papacy against the "commune" tentative in Rome and the Reich emperors of Staufen dinasty, by leading the italian commune league and the "guelfi" alliance all over Europe that revolted the political system power until the end of XX century AD!

Free from the Reich control, Rome became capital of the Church State in 1378 AD, after the "western schism" caused by the France king that hosted the Papacy in Avignone, against the "counter-Popes" seated in Rome, until 1418 AD 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 eqpoque, the popes pursued a coherent architectural and urban programme over four hundred 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 or the Beccaccia Fontain in Piazza di Spagna or "the Moses" sculpture, the Trevi Fountain or the Ponte dei Quattro Capi or the Ponte Sant'Angelo on the Tiber river, just to give same examples.

In 1871 AD Rome was invaded by Savoy troups and became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy and the 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 the seat of several specialised agencies of the United Nations, such as the FAO, the WFP and the IFAD 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 AD held the conferences that signed the EEC 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 Wordl 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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