ROME

According to Varro's calculations, Rome was founded on April 21, 753 B.C. Rome was first governed by Kings (753 510 B.C.); then as a Republic by Consuls (510 30) and finally by Emperors (30 B.C. to 476 A.D.) During the Middle Ages, the Church established its temporal rule and Rome remained the seat of the Papal Court until September 20, 1870 when the Italian army entered Rome and the Eternal City became the capital of a united Italy. The Vatican, a small territory of 0,440,km occupied by St. Peter's Basilica, St. Peter's Square and the Vatican palaces, is under the sovereignty of the Pope, and it has been called the Vatican City State since 1929. Rome has a population of over three millions. The Kings of Rome. According to the legend, the seven Kings of Rome were: Romulus, Numa Pompilius, Tullus Hostilius, Ancus Martius, Tarquinius Priscus, Servius Tullius, and Tarquinius Superbus. 667. Romans and Albans contesting for superiority agreed to choose three champions on each side to decide the question. The three Horatii, Roman knights, overcame the three Curiatii, Alban knights, and unite Alba to Rome. 509. Tarquin the Proud and his family expelled for tyranny and licentiousness: royalty abolished. The Patricians established an aristocratic commonwealth. The Republic. First period (510 87 B.C.) from the expulsion of Tarquin to the Dictatorship of Sulla. Second period (87 30 B.C.) from Sulla to Augustus. 496. The Latins and the Tarquins declared war against the Republic and were defeated at Lake Regillus. 477 396. Wars with Veii and the Etruscans. Veii taken by Camillus after ten years' siege. 390. The Gauls, under Brennus, won a remarkable victory over the Romans on the banks of the little River Allia, after which they sacked and plundered Rome. However, they eventually retumed to their own land and Rome was gradually rebuilt (343 290). 264 146. The Punic Wars, which culminated in the destruction of Carthage, the leading naval power in the Mediterranean. 146. The conquest of Greece. 88 86. Fighting between Marius and Sulla. 82 89. Sulla's dictatorship. Decline of the Republican institutions. 60 53. The First Triumvirate: Caesar, Pompey and Crassus. 58. Caesar's campaigns in Gaul and Britain. 48. Pompey was defeated at Pharsalus; Caesar was assassinated on March 15, 44, (the Ides of March) during a Senate Meeting. 43. The Second Triumvirate: Octavian (the future Augustus), Anthony and Lepidus. 42. Battle of Philippi in Macedonia. Death of Brutus and Cassius. 31. Octavian defeated Anthony and Cleopatra at Actium (Greece); remaining the sole ruler of Rome. The Empire. The Emperor Octavian (63 B.C. 14 A.D.) took the name of Caesar Augustus. The birth of Jesus Christ. The reign of Augustus coincided with the golden age of Latin literature: this was the era of writers such as Cicero, Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Livy and Tacitus. 61. St. Paul visited Rome for the first time, entering the city by the ancient Capena gate. During Nero's persecution (64 68) he was martyred at the same time as St. Peter. 64. Rome was burned in a great fire in Nero's reign and the Christians were blamed for the great fire. 70. Jerusalem was razed to the ground by Titus. Vespasian began to build the Coliseum in 72. 98 117. Under Trajan, the Roman Empire reached its maximum expansion. 117 138. During Hadrian's reign, Rome was at the peak of its architectural splendour. The Empire began to decline between the 2nd and 3rd centuries, as a result of internal crises and because of pressure from barbarian peoples. 272. Aurelius began to build the Aurelian Walls as protection against the threat of invasion. 284. Diocletian and Maximian: the first division of the Empire. 312. Constantine the Great allowed the Christians freedom of religious practice. In 331 he transferred the capital of the Empire to Byzantium (Constantinople). 361. Julian the Apostate abjured Christianity and reopened the pagan temples. He was killed in battle in Persia. 395. The Roman Empire was definitively divided between the East (Arcadius) and the West (Honorius). 404. Transfer of the Capital to Ravenna. 410. Rome sacked by the Goths. 475. Romulus Augustulus, the last Emperor. 476. Odoacer's conquest of Rome put an end to the Roman Empire in the West. The Middle Ages. 493. The Goths established their reign in Italy, defeating Odoacer. 535-553. The Byzantine-Gothic war. 568. The Lombards invaded Italy: Italy was divided among the barbarians and the Eastern Empire (the Byzantines). 729. With the donation of Sutri by the Lombard king Liutprandus, the temporal rule of the popes began. 800. On Christmas day, Leo 111 crowned Charlemagne Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. 1073-1085. Pope Gregory VII, a fervent and energetic reformer, began his fight against the Emperor Henry IV (The War of Investitures). 1084. Rome was invaded and sacked by the Normans, led by Robert Guiscard. 1300. Boniface VIII proclaimed the first Jubilee. 1305. Clement V moved the papal scat from Rome to Avignon, where it remained until 1377. 1377. Cola di Rienzo, the last of the Tribunes, founded the Roman Republic. He was assassinated in 1354. The Renaissance. 1471. The foundation of the Capitoline Museums, the oldest public collection in the world. 1503-1513. Julius Il began to pull down the old St. Peters in order to build the present Basilica, under Bramante's supervision. 1513-1521. Leo X, the son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, made Rome the greatest cultural centre. - Under the pontificate of Leo X the Lutheran Reform began. The imperial invasion of Italy and the disastrous Sack of Rome (16 May, 1527) put an end to the golden age of the papa] city in a nightmare of fire and blood. 1585-1590. Sixtus V, a real innovator of town planning, covered Rome with new buildings. The Modern and Contemporary Age. 1799. The Jacobine Republic in Rome, Pope Pius VI was deported to France. 1800. The First Restoration: Pius VII was re-established in Rome. 1809. Rome came once more under French hegemony. 1814. The Restoration brought back Pius VII to Roman soil. 1849. The Roman Republic led by the Triumvirate: Mazzini, Armelini, Saffi. Giuseppe Garibaldi was in command of the army. 1849. French troops put an end to the Republican government after seven months, and restored Pius IX to the papal throne. 1861. On March 27, the Italian Parliament declared Rome the natural capital of the new State. 1870. On September 20, Italian troopes entered Rome through the breach in Porta Pia. 1929. On February 11, the «Roman Question» between the Church and the State was finally resolved by the Lateran Treaty, which came to be part of the Constitution of the Italian Republic. 1943. The neighbourhood of St. Lawrence was particularly damaged by bombing during the 2nd World War and there were many victims. 1946. In Italy, the Republic was proclaimed in accordance with the June 2 referendum. 1962-65. The Ecumenical Council, Vatican II, was summoned by John XXIII and concluded by Paul VI. 1978. After the death of Paul VI and the pontificate of John Paul 1 which lasted one month, John Paul II the Polish Pope, acceded to the pontifical throne. He is the first non-Italian Pope for more than four and a half centuries.

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