General info

Modern Rome City

Charles V's sack of Rome in 1527, the French Revolution, Napoleon's march across Europe and the Franco-Prussian War pulled the rug out from under papal power. In 1870 Rome city became capital of the newly united Italy, leaving the pope with mere figurehead status and causing him to abandon the city for the home fires of the Vatican.

In the 20th century, Rome went through yet another growth spurt. The pope was made sovereign of Vatican City in 1929. The new administration was more interested in offices and housing blocks than churches, and during the 1930s the city expanded beyond the city walls. During Mussolini's rule, in the 1920s and '30s, Rome took on Fascist airs, puffing out its chest with wide boulevards and overblown architecture. Dreams of imperial glory led Mussolini to form an alliance with Germany during WWII, and the nightmare that ensued helped set the scene for Italy 's transformation from a totalitarian regime into a republic in 1946. The postwar years saw Rome 's expanding physically and becoming the centre of Italy 's film industry until the early 1960s.

The 1970s and '80s were marked by more violent transformations, namely those of some radical student groups (who had a long list of complaints about Italy 's left-wing governments) into right-wing terrorists. The Brigate Rosse (Red Brigade) was the most notorious group, going so far as to kidnap and eventually murder former prime minister Aldo Moro in Rome city in 1978.

The last few decades of the 20th century saw a mixture of economic success and wide-ranging corruption scandals which touched many a politician, public official and businessperson. The public reacted with perverse moral indignation in 1994 by electing a stridently right-wing coalition headed by a billionaire media magnate, Silvio Berlusconi. Amid claims of corruption, the government fell, and after some years of typically Italian political musical chairs, Berlusconi returned from the desert to win the 2001 national elections, promising 'few words and plenty of action'. Despite the landslide victory, his right-wing government's activities have regularly been greeted with large-scale protests. As late as December 2002 he was again under suspicion of corruption, but he seems to have a way with the legal system and may just yet again avoid trouble.

The Jubilee Year in 2000, during which around 16 million Catholic pilgrims visited the city, gave Rome impetus to clean up her act. Billions were spent cleaning church and palazzo facades, improving roads and transport, and reclaiming public spaces from the car parks they'd become. At the start of the new millennium Rome city had never looked more beautiful. Meanwhile, Rome proper ostensibly remains, as it has always been, an administrative and tourist centre, without much sign of industry or trade, but lots of political intrigue.

In the past half century Rome city has expanded well beyond the walls started in the 3d cent. by Emperor Aurelian, and it now extends north to the Aniene. Long sections of the ancient walls have been preserved, however, and archaeology remains an essential element of modern city-planning in Rome . Ancient marble columns and ruins rising beside modern apartments and offices, noisy boulevards, and luxurious villas and gardens characterize the modern city of Rome. As in ancient times, the larger section of Rome lies on the left bank of the Tiber, which intersects the city in three wide curves and is spanned by over 20 bridges.

Economy

As in ancient times Rome city is a center of transportation. It is the focus of international travel by road, rail, sea (at the port of Civitavecchia), and air (at Leonardo da Vinci international airport at Fiumicino) and is as well a cultural, religious, political, and commercial center of international importance. Public transportation in Rome is provided by an elaborate bus system. A subway, the Metropolitana, was opened in 1955. Rome 's large number of automobiles has caused serious traffic congestion, and in the 1970s and 80s various attempts w with the problem, including the banning of traffic in certain parts of the city. The economy of Rome city depends to a very large extent on the tourist trade. The city is also a center of banking, insurance, printing, publishing, and fashion. Italy 's movie industry (founded in 1936) is located at nearby Cinecitta.