"Rome - Capital of Italy" a Rome Travel Page by ECYM

Rome is the capital city of Italy and of the Lazio region, as well as the country's largest and most populous city, with more than 2.7 million residents. The metropolitan area has a population of about 4 million. It is located in the central-western portion of the Italian peninsula, where the river Aniene joins the Tiber.

Rome is known as, Caput Mundi (Capital of the world), la Cittą Eterna (The Eternal City), Limen Apostolorum (Threshold of the Apostles), la cittą dei sette colli (The city of the seven hills) or simply l'Urbe (The City), has been for centuries the center of Western civilization, and is the seat of the Catholic Church.

The State of the Vatican City, the sovereign territory of the Holy See is an enclave of Rome.

Today, Rome is modern and cosmopolitan. It is the third most-visited tourist destination in the EU and a city of cultural and political importance. Its international airport at Fiumicino is the largest in Italy; it 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, Telecom Italia).

As one of the few major European cities that escaped World War II relatively unscathed, central Rome remains essentially Renaissance and Baroque in character. The Historic Center of Rome is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.