Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy. It sits in the middle of the country, on the banks of the Tiber River. About 2.8 million people live there today. Rome is one of the oldest cities in the world that people have lived in without a break. It has been a busy city for about 2,800 years.

According to Roman legend, the city was founded in 753 BCE by twin brothers named Romulus and Remus. The story says a she-wolf raised them after they were left by the river as babies. Historians think real people founded Rome around that time, but the wolf part is myth. The name "Rome" may come from Romulus, who killed his brother and became the first king.

Rome grew from a small village into the center of a huge empire. At its biggest, around 117 CE, the Roman Empire stretched from Britain to the Middle East. Rome itself had over a million people, which was more than any city in Europe would have again for 1,700 years. The empire built roads, aqueducts, and stone buildings so well that many are still standing.

You can see this ancient past all over the modern city. The Colosseum, a giant stone arena where gladiators once fought, has stood for almost 2,000 years. The Pantheon, a round temple built around 126 CE, still has the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world. The Roman Forum was once the political heart of the empire. Today people walk through its ruins like a giant outdoor museum.

Inside Rome sits a separate country called Vatican City. It covers only about 110 acres, smaller than many city parks, which makes it the smallest country on Earth. Vatican City is the home of the Pope and the center of the Roman Catholic Church. More than a billion Catholics around the world look to it.

Rome is sometimes called the "Eternal City" because it has lasted so long. Workers still find ancient coins, pots, and walls whenever they dig a new subway tunnel. Some archaeologists joke that building a subway in Rome is nearly impossible because every shovel hits history. Construction often stops for months while experts study what was found.

Today Rome is a busy modern city with cafés, scooters, soccer fans, and traffic. But its layers of history are never far away. A kid walking to school might pass a 2,000-year-old column on the way.