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History

Rome 753 B.C.

It is said that a city can be described through a single view, a colour, a scent, an object or even an idea: and it is precisely those nuances, imperceptible and evanescent, that sometimes turn into indelible memories..

Throughout the centuries, the magic of Rome has been written on paper by the words of poets and writers, beautifully depicted in the works of great artists. Eternal and mysterious, the capital envelops those who arrive in a pleasant “Rome sickness” that does not leave, and it is no coincidence that millions of tourists hurry to throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain with the desire to return to visit: because in Rome, remembering the words of Goethe, everything is as imagined and everything is new.

If you don’t know it yet, or if you want to go back and immerse yourself in its magic, we will try to tell you in brief its profile, its soul, its colours.

The seven hills and the birth of Rome (753 BC)

The legend says that the birth of Rome was due to Romulus and Remus, the twins, sons of Rhea Silvia and the god Mars, abandoned and suckled by a she-wolf and finally adopted by the shepherd Faustulus and his wife Acca Larentia. When they grew up, the twins decided to found a city: to decide who should govern, they relied on the will of the gods, through the flight of the birds of augury. From the Aventine Hill, Remus saw six vultures, while Romulus, from the Palatine, spotted twelve, becoming the first King of Rome in 753 BC.

From the Palatine Hill, the city would spread to the seven hills we all know: Palatine, Aventine, Capitoline, Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline and Caelian.

The blond Tiber

This is what the river God was called in the poetry of ancient Rome, a God to whom everyone owed respect and love. But the Tiber was above all a real ‘road on the water’, along which large harbors were developed from Roman times, which were finally demolished in the second half of the nineteenth century with the construction of walls to free the city from constant flooding.

Nowadays, that direct contact with the river has been lost, but love and respect remain, as well as an awareness of its fundamental role in the birth and development of the city. Not to mention the glimpses of incredible beauty that it gives us from the many historic bridges, such as Ponte Sisto, Ponte Sant’Angelo or Ponte Fabricio.

Rome’s cultural and historical heritage

Rome’s grandiose monuments, hundreds of churches and spectacular fountains outline its marvelous profile and make it the city with the highest concentration of historical, archaeological and architectural heritage in the world, accounting for over 16% of the world’s cultural assets and 70% of Italy’s. Its historic center, bounded by the Aurelian walls, is an overlay of almost three millennia of evidence.

Its historical center, delimited by the Aurelian walls, is a superimposition of testimonies of almost three millennia: in 1980, together with the extraterritorial properties of the Holy See in the city and the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls, it was included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.