Historic Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San Paolo Fuori le Mura

The historic centre of Rome has been inscribed in the World Heritage List in 1980, during the works of the fourth session of the World Heritage Committee in Paris. In 1990, following the request of the Holy See to extend the site also to property it owned in the city but which had extraterritorial rights and to the Basilica di San Paolo fuori le mura (Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls), the ICOMOS confirmed the inscription of the Site in the World Heritage Site list under the following new name: The historic centre of Rome, the properties of the Holy See in that city enjoying extraterritorial rights and San Paolo fuori le Mura. The territory inscribed in the World Heritage property List encompasses the whole historic centre of Rome within the city walls at their widest extent in the 17th century, as well as the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. Specifically the area includes all the historic districts with the exception of a part of the Borgo and Prati neighbourhoods. The total area of ​​the site is 1468.17 hectares 1,430.8 of which are in the territory of the Republic of (Historic Centre of Rome) and 38.9 of which are in the territory of the Holy See.

Rome has one of the largest, most heterogeneous and intensely stratified historic centres in the world, since it contains some extraordinary archaeological areas encased within the century-old urban fabric to form a spectacular ensemble that has no equal. Founded, according to the legend, by Romulus and Remus in 753 BC on the river Tiber, Rome was first the centre of the Roman Republic, then of the Roman Empire until it became the capital of the Christian world in the fourth century. Ancient Rome, in fact was followed, from the fourth century, by Christian Rome and then by Papal Rome, from Nicholas V (1447-55) to Pius IX (1846-78). The Christian city is built on top on the old one of which it reuses spaces, buildings and materials. Since the fifteenth century the popes promoted a deep urban renewal of the city and its image in the style of Renaissance Classicism before and Baroque later. The central area of the site has no equal in Italy for quantity, quality and density of monuments, sites and cultural heritage in general. A wealth of material goods that includes both a wide range of areas and of archaeological sites, and a large quantity of famous historical and monumental heritage (public and private) of several different types: mansions and historic villas, towers and fortifications and other elements of military defence and strategic control of the territory, religious buildings (churches, convents, monasteries), public spaces (streets, squares and gardens). The UNESCO site is shared between two states: the Republic of Italy (for the historic centre of Rome), and the Holy See which owns some properties with extraterritorial rights, including the complex of St. John Lateran Basilica, Santa Maria Maggiore, the Palace of Chancellery and the Basilica of St. Paul outside the Walls. Rome is also the capital of Italy, and thus houses ministries and other government bodies and is also famous all over the world for its enormous cultural, architectural and archaeological heritage which is visited by millions of tourists each year.

Rome was built in a very favourable position. A vast area of rolling hills, a wide river that flows into the Tyrrhenian Sea and a small island (Isola Tiberina), which simplified the passing of the river facilitated the establishment of the first settlers’ communities. Originally scattered on the tops of the Septimontium hills, with a healthy climate and natural defences, the first settlements began to aggregate and converge into a urban situation from the ninth century BC onwards. The presence of a natural border – the Tiber, which divided the Latium culture from the Etruscan one – and an easy passage over the river supported and boosted economic and commercial growth of the area that during the eighth century BC began to build a unique centre around the Palatine. The Myth of the birth of Rome (753 BC) originates from this slow process of aggregation of smaller villages into a larger city. With the aggregation the city began a period of progress accompanied by gradual growth of institutions and infrastructures. The long-time presence of an Etruscan dynasty favoured works on public and military buildings that transformed the city; the building of the earliest major worshipping centres like the temple of Castor, the draining of the main river valley areas, the building of the first walls and the division of citizens first in Gens and then in Tribus changed the status of Rome from a small community to a fully structured urban centre. The great transformations brought about during the Kingdom age laid the foundation for the major developments that would occur in later centuries. The decline of Etruscan power and the clash between the patrician and the Kings drove the transition from Kingdom to Republic in the early sixth century. Rome started a slow but almost unstoppable expansion. From the sixth to the third century BC, albeit with some ups and downs, Rome imposed its rule over all of Magna Graecia and on most of the peoples of central Italy. At the end of this expansion process and after defeating the threatening foe Pyrrhus Rome owned the whole Italian peninsula. In just over a century, after finally defeating Carthage (through three victorious wars) Rome grew into the most powerful force in the Mediterranean. In the time between the defeat of the Carthaginians and the crisis of the Roman Republic Rome expanded in Spain, Southern France, Greece and the coast of Asia Minor and conquered all the coasts of the Mediterranean which the Romans rightfully called Mare Nostrum (our sea). This long process of expansion led Romans to often come into contact with the Hellenistic culture, a fact which changed forever Roman culture and town planning. Basilicas, temples, civil and leisure buildings, bronze statues and an increasing use of Greek marble and architectural models forever changed Rome’s appearance. The wealthiest Roman families began celebrating their power by financing large public works such as the Basilica Aemilia and the Basilica Julia. The need for a new type of government, more capable of handling the sheer size of the State and also the radicalisation of the internal tensions and the war between Rome and the other cities of Italy (Social War, 91-88 BC) led to the final crisis and end of the Republic. Strong, authoritarian figures rose, backed by their wealth or their military charisma; they were instrumental in further expanding Rome’s borders by conquest and in opening the doors to the Empire. Gaius Marius, Sulla, Pompey, Julius Caesar and Octavian Augustus delivered the finishing blows to a worn-out form of government which was fully unable to deal with a completely changed scenario.

When Octavian Augustus defeated Antonio in Actium and established a de facto monarchy (27 BC), Rome already ruled over a large part of the known world. After pacifying the city and the state after long decades of tensions and wars, Augustus focussed on implementing imposing architectural works. Some buildings, part of the Forum, were further expanded and a new one was built, dedicated to the new emperor. The Campus Martius was transformed from a military area to the ideal stage to portray and represent the new imperial power with its great sundial and the Ara Pacis. At the foot of the Palatine a new theatre, dedicated to Augustus’ nephew Marcellus, dominated a large space decorated with a magnificent portico and the renewal of the temple of a. Rome turned from a brick town into a city of marble. During the Augustan age Rome became a model and inspiration for all of the Empire; the numerous cities, including many newly-founded ones that dotted the Empire strived to imitate or mirror the capital’s town-planning and architecture. The great fire that destroyed the city under Nero made it possible to impose new rules for the construction of houses and roads, fighting speculation and encouraging safer construction techniques. In addition to ordering a massive reconstruction of the city destroyed by the fire Emperor Nero built a majestic private residence (the Domus Aurea) characterised by an unrivalled opulence. The need to erase the signs of Nero’s government led the Flavian emperors to focus their efforts on public buildings. The Domus Aurea was partially demolished and reused, and the space occupied by the artificial lake became the ideal seat for a huge amphitheatre (the Colosseum). The Flavian Dynasty, forced in part to do so by new fires raging in Rome, renewed large areas of the city with new forums, temples, porticos and a large stadium built by Domitian in the space now occupied by Piazza Navona. Trajan, the second “adopted emperor”, glorified the Empire’s peak expansion reached under its rule with massive building projects. A new Forum was built along with its own square and a vast library, the magnificent Basilica Ulpia and the Trajan’s Market on the slopes of the Quirinal. The Colle Oppio thermal baths became the model and inspiration for the larger, magnificent Roman spas that would follow. The heavy construction activities grew even more intense and hectic under the Antonine dinasty; the renovation of the Pantheon, the mausoleum and the Temple of Hadrian and the Antonine Column are just some of the symbols of this period. The Severan Dynasty too followed this trend and financed both new construction works and major renovation/maintenance works; Vespasian’s Templum Pacis was restored and the Severian Forma Urbis, the plan of the city of Rome carved on marble slabs was hung there; the imperial palace on the Palatine (Domus Augustana) was further expanded with the Domus Severiana; New, stunning fountains were built and under Caracalla another large thermal complex was built. The third century crisis led to a significant slowdown in building; among the few initiatives the most important is the building, under Aurelian, of a new and more complex defensive system (the Aurelian Walls). The rule of Diocletian (244-311 AD) and the stabilisation he brought about drastically reduced the importance of Rome compared to other key imperial cities. The city lost its status of capital of the empire to Mediolanum (Milan) and the building works decreased though some of the works of this period (for example the Baths of Diocletian) are still impressive. The last season of major Imperial building works in Rome was under Maxentius and Constantine, between the third and fourth centuries; the Basilica of Maxentius and the Arch of Constantine are the symbols of this period. And Constantine, who mostly focussed on the new empire capital in the East is also the one who started the era of Christian Rome.

The decline brought on the one hand a depopulation of the city and on the other the progressive abandonment (and subsequent stripping down) of the great buildings of classical Rome. The central role of the temples, of the civil basilicas and of the forums was replaced by new church complexes; first, the great basilicas built by the last emperors then the new complexes financed by the new rulers, the popes. Constantine promoted the construction of the Lateran Basilica, the church of Santi Marcellino e Pietro al Laterano, the mausoleum for his mother Helena and the first nucleus of the Vatican Basilica. His successors continued to support the construction of churches and religious buildings, often financed by wealthy members of the Christian aristocracy. In the next three centuries Rome reached the bottom of its decline. The destruction left by the Greek-Gothic War, the new Byzantine rule and the constant pressure of the Lombards led to a marked depopulation and the dereliction of almost all the old infrastructures. Only the Church, as is quite evident in the works and personality of Gregory the Great, kept Rome’s ancient splendour alive. In the next centuries (from 7th to the 9th) Rome witnessed on one hand the rise of Papal power and on the other a progressive detachment from Byzantium which led to the growth of the territorial autonomy of the Church, favoured by its alliance with another rising power: the Franks. The Church, supported by the wealthy Roman families, began a slow but inexorable process of architectural renovation that led to the construction of new churches and monasteries, the restoration of the Walls and of some aqueducts and numerous restoration and renovation of older buildings. Aristocracy began to show their power through the construction of towers and private buildings. The city’s expansion as well as the economic and political growth of the Papacy led to inevitable clashes with other, secular powers; the Empire on one hand and on the other the local merchant and artisan classes on the other. This instability was further exacerbated by the struggle between the Orsini and Colonna aristocratic families, a rivalry which grew fiercer to the point that the Pope had to move his seat to the French city of Avignon (1309-1377). Given the Pope’s importance and role as a driver of economic growth the exile brought again decadence to Rome. The return of the Pope in Rome, the momentary pacification of conflicts between the aristocrats and the new cultural climate fostered a fast and impressive rebirth of the city. Since the early decades of the fifteenth century new major construction projects were launched, initially mainly in the Lateran palace and in the Vatican and later on spread throughout the city. The rediscovery of the Classical tradition brought to Rome the greatest artists of the time to study and work on the monuments of ancient Rome. The Popes promoted and supported works aimed at creating a religious citadel on the Vatican, and for this purpose they called some of the most important artists and architects of the time: Benozzo Gozzoli, Beato Angelico, Bernardo Rossellini, Filarete, Gentile da Fabriano, Pisanello, Raphael, Botticelli and Domenico Ghirlandaio. The apparently never ending flow of works ordered by the Popes and the utter passion that many of them showed for Humanism favoured philosophical and intellectual production, the re-establishment and the enrichment of the Vatican Library as well as sculpture, music and any form of artistic production that might give back to Rome the centrality it had lost with the fall of the Empire. The Roman aristocracy shared the Popes’ passion and commitment and thanks also to them Rome, between the 15th and 16th centuries was enriched by the great palaces and rich mansions (Palazzo Venezia, Palace of Chancellery, Palazzo Vidoni, the Capitoline Hill complex, Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne, Palazzo Baldassini, Palazzo Farnese, Palazzo del Collegio Romano, Palazzo del Quirinale, Palace of the Holy Office) as well as villas rivalling the Otium residences of olf (Villa Aldobrandini, Villa Borghese, Villa Celimontana, Villa Doria Pamphili, Villa Farnesina, Villa Giulia, Villa Lante, Villa Medici, Villa Sciarra, Villa Torlonia, Villa Wolkonsky). Pope Julius II (1503-1513) gave further momentum to the city’s renewal. Bramante was called to oversee the construction projects in the Vatican and the reconstruction of St. Peter’s Basilica, Michelangelo sculpted the monumental tomb of the Pope and frescoed the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and Raphael painted the new papal apartments of Julius II. Rome, in the time up until the twenties of the 16th century became the stage for the genius of some of the greatest artists of the Renaissance; an affluent, cosmopolitan city in constant turmoil for the artistic innovations and intellectuals which, for a short period relived the glories of the Empire. The Sack of Rome (1527) put an end to a unique era. It took Rome a lot of time to recover from the events of 1527. In the climate of the Counter-Reformation, the city became the centre of the new Baroque style. The rivalry between Bernini and Borromini, the creative flair and inspiration of Maderno and Pietro da Cortona and the completion of the new Saint Peter’s Basilica once again changed the city’s appearance. The great churches, the new redevelopment projects of public areas such as Piazza Navona and Trinità Dei Monti, the great architecture of open spaces like Piazza Del Popolo and the magnificence of the Trevi Fountain are just a few examples of the Baroque period in Rome.

Rome, despite the new and increasingly spectacular buildings, began undergoing a slow period of political decline that left it on the margins of the great transformations of the 18th century. The numbness that befell the city was interrupted only by the short-lived revolutionary upheavals that followed the French Revolution and the fall of Napoleon. Initially protected by France, the Eternal City managed to survive the earliest stages of the Italian Unification unscathed and retain its independence; but when in 1870, overwhelmed by the war with Prussia, Napoleon III failed to ensure adequate military protection to the Vatican, the city was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy. Once made Capital, Rome underwent massive building renewal works. New government buildings (ministries), renewal of whole districts, redevelopment of many derelict and neglected areas and the new role of Capital gave Rome new momentum after centuries of slumber.

The symbol of the legend on the origins of Rome and a beloved icon of the city, the Capitoline Wolf is a life-sized bronze sculpture of a she-wolf. Currently stored in a special room of the Capitoline Museums named after her, the mythological she-wolf is portrayed in the act of breastfeeding the twins Romulus and Remus. Traditionally regarded as the work of Etruscan or Magno-Graecian artisans of the fifth century BC, recent inspections and tests have suggested that it is “younger”, having been most likely crafted in the Middle Ages. The statue was brought to Capitol Hill by Sixtus IV who originally had it placed on the façade of the building before being transferred inside. The twins, added later have probably been crafted by Pollaiolo.

Among the many archaeological sites of Rome there is one that is rightly considered the most important example of Roman architecture that survived to this day: the Pantheon. This monument, built the first time by Agrippa (63-12 BC), was erected in the form we know in the Imperial Period, as wished by Emperor Hadrian (76-138 AD). The building, erected as a temple dedicated to all gods, consists of a portico and a massive circular structure. The latter, surrounded by thick walls carved with niches, is topped by a huge hemispherical concrete dome; at the top of the structure is a large circular opening, the oculus, which is its only source of light. The diameter of the circular structure, equal to the height of the building, reflects architectural criteria and proportions of sublime harmony. The Pantheon, at the beginning of the 7th century AD was converted into a Christian basilica and consecrated to the Virgin. This was essential to preserve it from being stripped in later centuries. Although many decorations have been lost, much of the original interior wall decorations and floors, in precious marble, have survived. Inside the building, which over the centuries has multiplied his fame, several famous historical figures and artists have been buried; for example one of the most visited graves is that of Raphael (1483-1520). Last but not least the Pantheon was enormously influential on European and American architects from the Renaissance to the 19th century; one example is Soufflot (1713-1780), who designed the Church of Sainte Genevieve in Paris.

The walls of Rome have a deep, strong connection with its history. The earliest city walls, whose remains were recently discovered, dates back to the 8th century BC and is named after the mythical founder of the city (Romulean Walls). This square wall encloses and defends the Palatine Hill. A second and larger circuit of walls (Servian or Republican walls) was built in the fourth century BC to encircle the other Six Hills (Quirinal, Esquiline, Caelian, Oppian, Viminal and Aventine). A short stretch of this large infrastructure is still visible near the Termini Railway Station. Rome did not need new defences until the third century AD, when the crisis of the Empire forced Aurelian (214-275) to build a new and more powerful defence system. The Aurelian Walls surround most of the historic centre of today and part of it are still visible. In Porta San Sebastiano there is the Walls Museum, a point of reference for those who want to know the history of these important structures. The rise of the papacy as the dominant power promoted new construction projects, aimed at the protection of the Seat of the Pope and of the Vatican Hill. In the ninth century, Pope Leo IV fortified the area of ​​Saint Peter’s Basilica with the Leonine Wall, thus creating the so-called Civitas Leonina. During the Renaissance other popes protected the Vatican citadel with a solid defensive system (the Vatican Walls) that provided a stronger protection of the Papal See and improved the link with the Castel Sant’Angelo fortress. An additional, but less significant upgrade was made in the seventeenth century with the (Janiculum walls). The new walls follow the profile of the Janiculum hill and replace the Aurelian Walls in the Trastevere district.

The historic centre of Rome, together with that of Athens, can be considered the archaeological site par excellence; complex and layered, it contains areas of different ages overlaid one onto each other and all part of a complex urban fabric, so complex that Sigmund Freud, in his essay on Civilisation and its discontents (1929), compared Rome to the structure of the human psyche, in which nothing that once had significance ever disappeared. A visit to the Crypta Balbi, not far from Piazza Venezia is the best way to understand this peculiar characteristic of Rome. The Crypta Balbi is the fourth seat of the Roman National Museum and it basically is an on site museum obtained from the results of a complex excavation of an urban site that made it possible to reconstruct the various stages of the evolution of a city block from Ancient Rome to the twentieth century. One particular noteworthy and recommended part of the museum is the section “Archaeology and history of the urban landscape”, rich in artefacts and whole reconstructions of excavation processes. Walking in these halls and corridors, visitors will see how the city develops under their feet, how it grows and changes and how each new stage carries along one or more pieces of each past stage.

World Heritage Site since 1990, ten years later than the historic centre of Rome, the Basilica of St. Paul is located outside of the Aurelian walls on the Via Ostiense main road and, according to tradition, contains the tomb of Paul the Apostle and for this reason it has always been a destination for pilgrimages. Initially the area where the Basilica was built was occupied by a cemetery that became a monumental cemetery under Emperor Constantine who had a small church built beside it. The building was then expanded due to the large amount of pilgrims visiting the site and it was given a five naves structure with an army of granite columns. Between the 4th and 8th centuries several Popes continuously renovated and embellished the building; Leo the Great (440-461), for example, covered the Arc of Triumph with mosaics. The real golden age, however, began in the thirteenth century when the Basilica was further embellished with a precious ciborium made by Arnolfo di Cambio. In 1823 the building was almost completely destroyed by a tremendous fire; Leo XII (1878-1903) took charge of the reconstruction; the new, rebuilt Basilica was almost identical to the original one. St. Paul Outside the walls is but one of the 900 churches that dot the territory of Rome, a secular but also religious capital; second in fame only to St. Peter, the St. Paul Basilica has been a cornerstone of the Christian faith from the very beginning and is a perfect example of both a symbolic site and a pilgrimage site.

Michelangelo Merisi (1571-1610), better known as Caravaggio, is considered one of the most fascinating artists of the modern age. His works, famous for the dramatic use of light, have had a strong influence on Baroque painting, an influence that spread from Rome across the rest of Europe. Caravaggio gifted Rome with six works in three churches which he painted between 1600 and 1603. The Church of St. Louis of France, not far from Piazza Navona, hosts three paintings that tell the story of the life of St. Matthew; the most famous among them is one that describes the conversion of the Saint, a painting where the light is the only true protagonist. The Basilica of Santa Maria in Piazza del Popolo instead hosts the Conversion of St. Paul and the Crucifixion of St. Peter ; the former stands out especially for the realism and distortion of traditional iconography, with the horse being much larger than the Saint and for the dark, interior setting (inside a dark barn). Last but not least the Church of St. Augustine hosts the Madonna of the Pilgrims, in which the Virgin appears in front of two dirty men clad in ragged clothes. In addition to their unparalleled beauty, what makes these works outstanding is that they are still located in the site they were originally commissioned for, like treasure chests unchanged over the centuries.

Hadrian ruled Rome from 117 AD until his death. The son of Publius Aelius Hadrianus Afer and Domitia Paulina, Hadrian was orphaned at the age of nine. The emperor Trajan, his predecessor, took care of him and, together with his wife Plotina he encouraged Hadrian’s cursus honorum. Hadrian’s rise to power was rather quick and his accession was followed by a continuous strengthening. On the domestic front, the Emperor was tolerant towards Christians and slaves, trying to improve their conditions; Furthermore, he promoted two reforms, one on the praetorian edict, the other focussed on public administration. As regards foreign policy, instead, the Emperor concentrated on defence of the borders; he is famous, amongst other things, for the building of Hadrian’s Wall in Northern Britain for the very purpose of strengthening one of the most turbulent borders. Hadrian’s travels across the Empire, however, were numerous and very frequent: in addition to patrolling the borders Hadrian focussed on the construction of new public buildings and, more generally, in improving the standards of living in the provinces. Unlike other emperors, Hadrian wanted to see and know personally his most remote possessions, animated by a tireless curiosity and a great love for the arts and culture. An eclectic man with multifaceted talents and versatile temperament, Hadrian proved to be a fine intellectual, interested in the visual arts, poetry, literature and architecture; the latter, in particular, fascinated him enough to give a personal touch to the buildings that he built. Emperor Hadrian, who died at age 62, was also an uncommonly sensitive man, as demonstrated by his affectionate relationship with the young Antinous. The death of this boy, mysteriously drowned in the Nile, grieved Hadrian so much that, to make him immortal, he dedicated to him the city of Antinopolis and hundreds of statues and busts.

A descendant of the noble Gens Anicia , in 573 he held the office of Praefectus in Rome. Gifted with a deep, solid intellectual education, an unconditional faith and a vast personal fortune, he invested part of its resources to building monasteries in his own properties. After leaving public life he devoted himself to a cenobitic life on the Caelian Hill. The Lombards’ continued pressure on the borders of the Empire forced Pope Pelagius II to seek help from Constantinople, and he chose Gregory for this delicate task. For six years Gregory was hosted at the court of Byzantine emperor Mauritius I and, despite being admired by all of the court, he returned to Rome with very little reinforcements: Byzantium was no longer interested in the fate of Rome. Due to these disappointing results Pelagius removed Gregory from his office allowing him to return to his monastery. After a short while a violent flood struck Rome, followed by a ravaging plague. The Pope, who was already sick, died and the people acclaimed Gregory as Pope. At first Gregory was upset and wanted to refuse, but then he accepted and was appointed Pope in 590. As Pope, Gregory passed a series of major reforms to restore rigour to the Church and improve its internal organisation. He supported monasteries and dedicated himself to an extensive renovation of the Curia by strengthening the Pope’s role and centrality. Pressed by the expansion of the Lombards, he strove to reach an agreement and return a long lost peace to the Italian peninsula. Gregory tried to contain the Lombards and reach an agreement with them, especially taking advantage of his being on friendly terms with Queen Theodelinda through which he could exert influence on King Agilulf. In doing so he aroused the suspicions of Byzantium, and only after several clarifications he managed to reach an agreement between the Lombards and the Byzantines (598), of which he took advantage to convert the Lombards (who were mostly Arians at the time). Gregory is also renowned and remembered for his thorough renewal of the liturgy and for his support and promotion of chant that, for this reason is known as Gregorian chant and also for the many epistles he wrote. When he died (604), he left the Church stronger than ever, at a time of great instability and dangers to Rome.

Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the greatest exponent of the Baroque, moved to Rome in 1605. Initially, Gian Lorenzo worked along his father, who was a sculptor too and thanks to him he came under the patronage of Cardinal Scipione Borghese. His first works immediately showed his enormous talent and his skill in imitating perfectly the Classical age sculptures. Between 1621 and 1625 he realized some of the most famous sculptures, such as Aeneas, Anchises and Ascanius and the Rape of Proserpina. Between 1623 and 1676 he gave life to a series of works that forever changed the face of Rome: the Colonnade and the Baldachin at St. Peter’s Basilica, the Ecstasy of St. Teresa and famous fountains like the Fountain of Four Rivers are just some of the wonders that he created in that period.

►   “Quando si considera un’esistenza come quella di Roma, vecchia di oltre duemila anni e più, e si pensa che è pur sempre lo stesso suolo, lo stesso colle, sovente perfino le stesse colonne e mura, e si scorgono nel popolo tracce dell’antico carattere, ci si sente compenetrati dei grandi decreti del destino.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Viaggio in Italia, 1817

►  “A Parigi, nel momento in cui si decide di andare a Roma, bisognerebbe stabilire di andare al museo un giorno sì e uno no: si abituerebbe l’anima a sentire la bellezza.”

Stendhal, Passeggiate romane, 1829

“Mi sembra di raggiungere le altezze dell’arte, di respirare l’aria respirata dai maestri e di vedere il mondo con i loro occhi.”

Edgar Lee Masters (1869-1950)

►  “Soltanto in quel luogo consacrato dai millenni tutto ciò che c’è stato e ci sarà può convivere con tutto: l’alto e il basso, il vecchio e il nuovo, la religione e l’empietà, il fasto e la miseria, persino Dio e il Diavolo sembravano aver trovato un equilibrio stabile e duraturo in quella città, dove tutto è già accaduto, e mica una sola volta! Mille volte.”

Sebastiano Vassalli, La Chimera, 1990

►  “Roma è più bella di Parigi da un punto di vista di stretta estetica tradizionale. Ha sicuramente il centro storico più bello del mondo; penso alla zona dal Colosseo a piazza del Popolo, alla Roma seicentesca racchiusa nell’ansa del Tevere.”

Corrado Augias, I segreti di Roma, 2005

Located in Tivoli, just outside Rome, Villa Adriana is part of the UNESCO Heritage list since 1999. Built between 118 and 138 AD by Emperor Hadrian (76-138 AD), can be called a suburban royal villa. Spread over a green, well watered areas, the villa includes residential buildings, baths, gardens and lily ponds. Its connection with the capital depends primarily on the figure of Hadrian, to whom we owe the realization not only of this villa but also of the Temple of Venus and, in Rome, the reconstruction of the Pantheon and the construction of a circular mausoleum, currently known as Castel Sant’Angelo. Another very important aspect is that the criteria and tenets or Roman architecture are applied here in a very original way, a fact that is reflected also by the distribution of the buildings that make up the Villa.

Verona still retains substantial vestiges of the Roman period. A World Heritage Site since 2002, Verona is the Veneto city where the traditional Roman orthogonal city plan and the main public monuments built by the Romans are best preserved. The remains of the theatre, the amphitheatre and the forum square are just the largest, most easily visible finds that tell the story of Roman Verona. To truly learn all of the history one must not only see the in situ finds but also visit the most important museums of the city, which contain numerous material evidence (statues, mosaics, inscriptions and ceramics).

D. Manacorda, Archeologia urbana a Roma: il progetto della Crypta Balbi, Firenze, All’insegna del giglio, 1982

E. Paratore, San Gregorio Magno, Roma, Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, 1984

P. Gros, M. Torelli, Storia dell’Urbanistica: il mondo romano, Bari, Laterza, 1992

R. Meneghini, R. Santangeli Valenzani, Roma nell’altomedioevo: topografia e urbanistica della città dal V al X secolo, Roma, Istituto Poligrafico dello Stato, 2004

R. Bernabei, Chiese di Roma, Milano, Electa, 2007

P. Cesaretti 2011 (a cura di), Roma: evoluzione di una capitale: 1861-2011, Roma, Banca del Fucino, 2011

F. Coarelli, Roma, Laterza, Bari, 2011

G. Geraci, A. Marcone, Storia Romana, Firenze, Le Monnier, 2011

F. Gualdoni, Rinascimento a Roma, Milano, Skira, 2011

Atlante di Roma antica: biografia e ritratti della città, a c. di A. Carandini, Electa, Milano, 2012

M.G. Bernardini, M. Bussagli, Barocco a Roma, Milano, Skira, 2015

S. Schutze, Caravaggio: l’opera completa, Koln, Taschen, 2015

whc.unesco.org/en/list/91

www.unesco.beniculturali.it

www.sovraintendenzaroma.it

www.museiincomuneroma.it/

www.turismoroma.it/

The historic centre of Rome has been inscribed in the World Heritage List in 1980, during the works of the fourth session of the World Heritage Committee in Paris. In 1990, following the request of the Holy See to extend the site also to property it owned in the city but which had extraterritorial rights and to the Basilica di San Paolo fuori le mura (Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls), the ICOMOS confirmed the inscription of the Site in the World Heritage Site list under the following new name: The historic centre of Rome, the properties of the Holy See in that city enjoying extraterritorial rights and San Paolo fuori le Mura. The territory inscribed in the World Heritage property List encompasses the whole historic centre of Rome within the city walls at their widest extent in the 17th century, as well as the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. Specifically the area includes all the historic districts with the exception of a part of the Borgo and Prati neighbourhoods. The total area of the site is 1468.17 hectares 1,430.8 of which are in the territory of the Republic of (Historic Centre of Rome) and 38.9 of which are in the territory of the Holy See.

Rome has one of the largest, most heterogeneous and intensely stratified historic centres in the world, since it contains some extraordinary archaeological areas encased within the century-old urban fabric to form a spectacular ensemble that has no equal. Founded, according to the legend, by Romulus and Remus in 753 BC on the river Tiber, Rome was first the centre of the Roman Republic, then of the Roman Empire until it became the capital of the Christian world in the fourth century. Ancient Rome, in fact was followed, from the fourth century, by Christian Rome and then by Papal Rome , from Nicholas V (1447-55) to Pius IX (1846-78). The Christian city is built on top on the old one of which it reuses spaces, buildings and materials. Since the fifteenth century the popes promoted a deep urban renewal of the city and its image in the style of Renaissance Classicism before and Baroque later. The central area of the site has no equal in Italy for quantity, quality and density of monuments, sites and cultural heritage in general. A wealth of material goods that includes both a wide range of areas and of archaeological sites, and a large quantity of famous historical and monumental heritage (public and private) of several different types: mansions and historic villas, towers and fortifications and other elements of military defence and strategic control of the territory, religious buildings (churches, convents, monasteries), public spaces (streets, squares and gardens). The UNESCO site is shared between two states: the Republic of Italy (the historic centre of Rome), and the Holy See which owns some properties with extraterritorial rights, including the complex of St. John Lateran Basilica, Santa Maria Maggiore, the Palace of Chancellery and the Basilica of St. Paul outside the Walls. Rome is also the capital of Italy, and thus houses ministries and other government bodies and is also famous all over the world for its enormous cultural, architectural and archaeological heritage which is visited by millions of tourists each year.

Rome was built in a very favourable position. A vast area of rolling hills, a wide river that flows into the Tyrrhenian Sea and a small island (Isola Tiberina), which simplified the passing of the river, facilitated the establishment of the first settlers’ communities. Originally scattered on the tops of the Septimontium hills, healthy and naturally defences, the first settlements began to aggregate and converge into a situation the ninth century BC onwards. The Myth of the birth of Rome (753 BC) originates from this slow process of aggregation of smaller villages into a larger city. With the aggregation the city began a period of progress accompanied by gradual growth of institutions and infrastructures, and the long-time presence of an Etruscan dynasty encouraged works on public and military buildings. The great transformations brought about by the Kingdom age laid the foundation for the major developments that would occur in later centuries. The decline of Etruscan power and the clash between the patrician and the kings drove the transition from Kingdom to Republic in the early sixth century. Rome started a slow but almost unstoppable expansion. From the sixth to the third century BC, albeit with some ups and downs, Rome imposed its rule over all of Magna Graecia and on most of the peoples of central Italy. At the end of this expansion process and after defeating the threatening foe Pyrrhus Rome owned the whole Italian peninsula. In just over a century, after finally defeating Carthage after three victorious wars Rome grew into the most powerful force in the Mediterranean. In the time between the defeat of the Carthaginians and the crisis of the Roman Republic Rome expanded in Spain, Southern France, Greece and the coast of Asia Minor and conquered all the coasts of the Mediterranean which the Romans rightfully called Mare Nostrum (our sea). This long process of expansion led Romans to often come into contact with the Hellenistic culture, a fact which changed forever Roman culture and town planning. Basilicas, temples, civil and leisure buildings, bronze statues and an increasing use of Greek marble and architectural models changed Rome’s appearance. The need for a new type of government, more capable of handling the sheer size of the State and also the radicalisation of the internal tensions and the war between Rome and the other cities of Italy (Social War, 91-88 BC) led to the final crisis and end of the Republic. Strong, authoritarian figures rose, backed by their wealth or their military charisma; they were instrumental in further expanding Rome’s borders by conquest and in opening the doors to the Empire. Gaius Marius, Sulla, Pompey, Julius Caesar and Octavian Augustus delivered the finishing blows to a worn-out form of government which was fully unable to deal with a completely changed scenario.

When Octavian Augustus defeated Antonio in Actium, thus establishing a de facto monarchy (27 BC), Rome already ruled over a large part of the then known world. After pacifying the city and the state after long decades of tensions and wars, Augustus focussed on implementing imposing architectural works. Some buildings that were part of the Forum were further expanded and a new one was built, dedicated to the new emperor. The Campus Martius was transformed from a military area to the ideal stage to portray and represent the new imperial power with its great sundial and the Ara Pacis. At the foot of the Palatine a new theatre, dedicated to Augustus’ nephew Marcellus, dominated a large space decorated with a magnificent portico and the renewal of the temple of a. Rome turned from a brick town into a city of marble. During the Augustan age Rome became a model and inspiration for all of the Empire; the numerous cities, including many newly-founded ones, that dotted the Empire strived to imitate or mirror the capital’s town-planning and architecture. The great fire that destroyed the city under Nero made it possible to impose new rules for the construction of houses and roads, fighting speculation and encouraging safer construction techniques. In addition to ordering a massive reconstruction of the city destroyed by the fire Emperor Nero built a majestic private residence (the Domus Aurea) characterised by an unrivalled opulence. The need to erase the signs of Nero’s government led the Flavian emperors to focus their efforts on public buildings. The Domus Aurea was partially demolished and reused, and the space occupied by the artificial lake became the ideal seat for a huge amphitheatre (the Colosseum). The Flavian Dynasty, forced in part to do so by new fires raging in Rome, renewed large areas of the city with new forums, temples, porticos and a large stadium built by Domitian in the space now occupied by Piazza Navona. Trajan, the second “adopted emperor”, glorified the Empire’s peak expansion reached under its rule with massive building projects. A new Forum was built along with its own square and a vast library, the magnificent Basilica Ulpia and the Trajan’s Market on the slopes of the Quirinal. The Colle Oppio thermal baths became the model and inspiration for the larger, magnificent Roman spas that would follow. The heavy construction activities grew even more intense and hectic under the Antonine dinasty; the renovation of the Pantheon, the mausoleum and the Temple of Hadrian and the Antonine Column are just some of the symbols of this period. The Severan Dynasty too followed this trend and financed both new construction works and major renovance/maintenance works; Vespasian’s Templum Pacis was restored and the Severian Forma Urbis, the plan of the city of Rome carved on marble slabs was hung there; the imperial palace on the Palatine (Domus Augustana) was further expanded with the Domus Severiana; New, stunning fountains were built and under Caracalla another large thermal complex was built. The third century crisis led to a significant slowdown in building; among the few initiatives the most important is the building, under Aurelian, of a new and more complex defensive system (the Aurelian Walls). The rule of Diocletian (244-311 AD) and the stabilisation he brought about drastically reduced the importance of Rome compared to other key imperial cities. The city lost its status of capital of the empire to Mediolanum (Milan) and the building works decreased though some of the works of this period (for example the Baths of Diocletian) are still impressive. The last season of major Imperial building works in Rome was under Maxentius and Constantine, between the third and fourth centuries; the Basilica of Maxentius and the Arch of Constantine are the symbols of this period. And Constantine, who mostly focussed on the new empire capital in the East is also the one who started the era of Christian Rome.

The decline brought on the one hand a depopulation of the city and on the other the progressive abandonment (and subsequent stripping down) of the great buildings of classical Rome. The central role of the temples, of the civil basilicas and of the forums was replaced by new church complexes; first, the great basilicas built by the last emperors then the new complexes financed by the new rulers, the popes. Constantine promoted the construction of the Lateran Basilica, the church of Santi Marcellino e Pietro al Laterano, the mausoleum for his mother Helena and the first nucleus of the Vatican Basilica. His successors continued to support the construction of churches and religious buildings, often financed by wealthy members of the Christian aristocracy. In the next three centuries Rome reached the bottom of its decline. The destruction left by the Greek-Gothic War, the new Byzantine rule and the constant pressure of the Lombards led to a marked depopulation and the dereliction of almost all the old infrastructures. Only the Church, as is quite evident in the works and personality of Gregory the Great, kept Rome’s ancient splendour alive. In the next centuries (from 7th to the 9th) Rome witnessed on one hand the rise of Papal power and on the other a progressive detachment from Byzantium which led to the growth of the territorial autonomy of the Church, favoured by its alliance with another rising power: the Franks. The Church, supported by the wealthy Roman families, began a slow but inexorable process of architectural renovation ancient which included the construction of new churches and monasteries, the restoration of the Walls and of some aqueducts and numerous restoration and renovation of older buildings. Aristocracy began to show their power through the construction of towers and private buildings. The city’s expansion as well as the economic and political growth of the Papacy led to inevitable clashes with other, secular powers; the Empire on one hand and on the other the local merchant and artisan classes on the other. This instability was further exacerbated by the struggle between the Orsini and Colonna aristocratic families, a rivalry which grew fiercer to the point that the Pope had to move his seat to the French city of Avignon (1309-1377). Given the Pope’s importance and role as a driver of economic growth the exile brought again decadence to Rome. The return of the Pope in Rome, the momentary pacification of conflicts between the aristocrats and the new cultural climate fostered a fast and impressive rebirth of the city. Since the early decades of the fifteenth century new major construction projects were launched, initially mainly in the Lateran palace and in the Vatican and later on spread throughout the city. The rediscovery of the Classical tradition brought to Rome the greatest artists of the time to study and work on the monuments of ancient Rome. The Popes promoted and supported works aimed at creating a religious citadel on the Vatican, and for this purpose they called some of the most important artists and architects of the time: Benozzo Gozzoli, Beato Angelico, Bernardo Rossellini, Filarete, Gentile da Fabriano, Pisanello, Raphael, Botticelli and Domenico Ghirlandaio. The apparently never ending flow of works ordered by the Popes and the utter passion that many of them showed for Humanism favoured philosophical and intellectual production, the re-establishment and the enrichment of the Vatican Library as well as sculpture, music and any form of artistic production that might give back to Rome the centrality it had lost with the fall of the Empire. The Roman aristocracy shared the Popes’ passion and commitment and thanks also to them Rome, between the 15th and 16th centuries was enriched by the great palaces and rich mansions (Palazzo Venezia, Palace of Chancellery, Palazzo Vidoni, the Capitoline Hill complex, Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne, Palazzo Baldassini, Palazzo Farnese, Palazzo del Collegio Romano, Palazzo del Quirinale, Palace of the Holy Office) as well as villas rivalling the Otium residences of olf (Villa Aldobrandini, Villa Borghese, Villa Celimontana, Villa Doria Pamphili, Villa Farnesina, Villa Giulia, Villa Lante, Villa Medici, Villa Sciarra, Villa Torlonia, Villa Wolkonsky). Pope Julius II (1503-1513) gave further momentum to the city’s renewal. Bramante was called to oversee the construction projects in the Vatican and the reconstruction of St. Peter’s Basilica, Michelangelo sculpted the monumental tomb of the Pope and frescoed the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and Raphael painted the new papal apartments of Julius II. Until the twenties of the 16th century the city became the stage for the genius of some of the greatest artists of the Renaissance; an affluent, cosmopolitan city in constant turmoil for the artistic innovations and intellectuals which, for a short period relived the glories of the Empire. The Sack of Rome (1527) put an end to a unique era. It took Rome a lot of time to recover from the events of 1527. In the climate of the Counter-Reformation, the city became the centre of the new Baroque style. The rivalry between Bernini and Borromini, the creative flair and inspiration of Maderno and Pietro da Cortona and the completion of the new Saint Peter’s Basilica once again changed the city’s appearance. The great churches, the new redevelopment projects of public areas such as Piazza Navona and Trinità Dei Monti, the great architecture of open spaces like Piazza Del Popolo and the magnificence of the Trevi Fountain are just a few examples of the Baroque period in Rome.

Rome, despite the new and increasingly spectacular buildings, began undergoing a slow period of political decline that left it on the margins of the great transformations of the 18th century. The numbness that befell the city was interrupted only by the short-lived revolutionary upheavals that followed the French Revolution and the fall of Napoleon. Initially protected by France, the Eternal City managed to survive the earliest stages of the Italian Unification unscathed and retain its independence; but when in 1870, overwhelmed by the war with Prussia, Napoleon III failed to ensure adequate military protection to the Vatican, the city was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy. Once made Capital, Rome underwent massive building renewal works. New government buildings (ministries), renewal of whole districts, redevelopment of many derelict and neglected areas and the new role of Capital gave Rome new momentum after centuries of slumber.

The symbol of the legend on the origins of Rome and a beloved icon of the city, the Capitoline Wolf is a life-sized bronze sculpture of a she-wolf. Currently stored in a special room of the Capitoline Museums named after her, the mythological she-wolf is portrayed in the act of breastfeeding the twins Romulus and Remus. Traditionally regarded as the work of Etruscan or Magno-Graecian artisans of the fifth century BC, recent inspections and tests have suggested that it is “younger”, having been most likely crafted in the Middle Ages. The statue was brought to Capitol Hill by Sixtus IV who originally had it placed on the façade of the building before being transferred inside. The twins, added later have probably been crafted by Pollaiolo.

Among the many archaeological sites of Rome there is one that is rightly considered the most important example of Roman architecture that survived to this day: the Pantheon. This monument, built the first time by Agrippa (63-12 BC), was erected in the form we know in the Imperial Period, as wished by Emperor Hadrian (76-138 AD). The building, erected as a temple dedicated to all gods, consists of a portico and a massive circular structure. The latter has a huge hemispherical concrete dome as a roof; at the top of the structure is a large circular opening, the oculus, which is its only source of light. The diameter of the circular structure, equal to the height of the building, reflects architectural criteria and proportions of sublime harmony. The Pantheon, at the beginning of the 7th century AD was converted into a Christian basilica and consecrated to the Virgin. This was essential to preserve it from being pillaged in later centuries. Although many decorations have been lost, much of the original interior wall decorations and floors, in precious marble, have survived. Inside the building, which over the centuries has multiplied his fame, several famous historical figures and artists have been buried; for example one of the most visited graves is that of Raphael (1483-1520). Last but not least the Pantheon was enormously influential on European and American architects from the Renaissance to the 19th century.

The walls of Rome have a deep, strong connection with its history. The earliest city walls, whose remains were recently discovered, dates back to the 8th century BC and is named after the mythical founder of the city (Romulean Walls). This square wall encloses and defends the Palatine Hill. A second and larger circuit of walls (Servian or Republican walls) was built in the fourth century BC to encircle the other Six Hills (Quirinal, Esquiline, Caelian, Oppian, Viminal and Aventine). A short stretch of this large infrastructure is still visible near the Termini Railway Station. Rome did not need new defences until the third century AD, when the crisis of the Empire forced Aurelian (214-275) to build a new and more powerful defence system. The Aurelian Walls surround most of the historic centre of today and part of them are still visible. In Porta San Sebastiano there is the Walls Museum, a point of reference for those who want to know the history of these important structures. The rise of the papacy as the dominant power promoted new construction projects, aimed at the protection of the Seat of the Pope and of the Vatican Hill. In the ninth century, Pope Leo IV fortified the area of Saint Peter’s Basilica with the Leonine Wall, thus creating the so-called Civitas Leonina. During the Renaissance other popes protected the Vatican citadel with a solid defensive system (the Vatican Walls) that provided a stronger protection of the Papal See and improved the link with the Castel Sant’Angelo fortress. An additional, but less significant upgrade was made in the seventeenth century with the (Janiculum walls). The new walls follow the profile of the Janiculum hill and replace the Aurelian Walls in the Trastevere district.

The historic centre of Rome, together with that of Athens, can be considered the archaeological site par excellence; complex and layered, it contains areas of different ages overlaid one onto each other and all part of a complex urban fabric, so complex that Sigmund Freud, in his essay on Civilisation and its discontents (1929), compared Rome to the structure of the human psyche, in which nothing that once had significance has disappeared. A visit to the Crypta Balbi, not far from Piazza Venezia is the best way to understand this peculiar characteristic of Rome. The Crypta Balbi is the fourth seat of the Roman National Museum and it basically is an on site museum obtained from the results of a complex excavation of an urban site that made it possible to reconstruct the various stages of the evolution of a city block from Ancient Rome to the twentieth century. One particular noteworthy and recommended part of the museum is the section “Archaeology and history of the urban landscape”, rich in artefacts and whole reconstructions of excavation processes. Walking in these halls and corridors, visitors will see how the city develops under their feet, how it grows and changes and how each new stage carries along one or more pieces of each past stage.

World Heritage Site since 1990, ten years later than the historic centre of Rome, the Basilica of St. Paul is located outside of the Aurelian walls on the Via Ostiense main road and, according to tradition, contains the tomb of Paul the Apostle and for this reason it has always been a destination for pilgrimages. Initially the area where the Basilica was built was occupied by a cemetery that became a monumental cemetery under Emperor Constantine who had a small church built beside it. The building was then expanded due to the large amount of pilgrims visiting the site and it was given a five naves structure with an army of granite columns. Between the 4th and 8th centuries several Popes continuously renovated and embellished the building; Leo the Great (440-461), for example, covered the Arc of Triumph with mosaics. The real golden age, however, began in the thirteenth century when the Basilica was further embellished with a precious ciborium made by Arnolfo di Cambio (1240-1310). In 1823 the building was almost completely destroyed by a tremendous fire. In 1823 the building was almost completely destroyed by a tremendous fire; Leo XII (1878-1903) took charge of the reconstruction; the new, rebuilt Basilica was almost identical to the original one.

Michelangelo Merisi (1571-1610), better known as Caravaggio, is considered one of the most fascinating artists of the modern age. His works, famous for the dramatic use of light, have had a strong influence on Baroque painting, an influence that spread from Rome across the rest of Europe. Caravaggio gifted Rome with six works in three churches, all painted between 1600 and 1603. The Church of St. Louis of France, not far from Piazza Navona, hosts three paintings that tell the story of the life of St. Matthew; the most famous among them is one that describes the conversion of the Saint, a painting where the light is the only true protagonist. The Basilica of Santa Maria in Piazza del Popolo instead hosts the Conversion of St. Paul and the Crucifixion of St. Peter; the former stands out especially for the realism and distortion of traditional iconography, with the horse being much larger than the Saint and for the dark, interior setting (inside a dark barn). Last but not least the Church of St. Augustine hosts the Madonna of the Pilgrims, in which the Virgin appears in front of two dirty men clad in ragged clothes. In addition to their unparalleled beauty, what makes these works outstanding is that they are still located in the site they were originally commissioned for, like treasure chests unchanged over the centuries.

Hadrian ruled Rome from 117 AD until his death. The son of Publius Aelius Hadrianus Afer and Domitia Paulina, Hadrian was orphaned at the age of nine. The emperor Trajan, his predecessor, took care of him and, together with his wife Plotina he encouraged Hadrian’s cursus honorum. Hadrian’s rise to power was rather quick and his accession was followed by a continuous strengthening. On the domestic front, the Emperor was tolerant towards Christians and slaves, trying to improve their conditions; Furthermore, he promoted two reforms, one for the praetorian edict, the other focussed on public administration. As regards foreign policy, instead, the Emperor concentrated on defence of the borders; he is famous, amongst other things, for the building of Hadrian’s Wall in Northern Britain for the very purpose of strengthening one of the most turbulent borders. Hadrian’s travels across the Empire, however, were numerous and very frequent: in addition to patrolling the borders Hadrian focussed on the construction of new public buildings and, more generally, in improving the standards of living in the provinces. Unlike other emperors, Hadrian wanted to see and know personally his most remote possessions, animated by a tireless curiosity and a great love for the arts and culture. An eclectic man with multifaceted talents and versatile temperament, Hadrian proved to be a fine intellectual, interested in the visual arts, poetry, literature and architecture; the latter, in particular, fascinated him enough to give a personal touch to the buildings that he built. Emperor Hadrian, who died at age 62, was also an uncommonly sensitive man, as demonstrated by his affectionate relationship with the young Antinous. The death of this boy, mysteriously drowned in the Nile, grieved Hadrian so much that, to make him immortal, he dedicated to him the city of Antinopolis and hundreds of statues and busts.

A descendant of the noble Gens Anicia , in 573 he held the office of Praefectus in Rome. Gifted with a deep, solid intellectual education, an unconditional faith and a vast personal fortune, he invested part of its resources to building monastries in his own properties. After leaving public life he devoted himself to a cenobitic life on the Caelian Hill. He spent six years at the imperial court of Constantinople, as ambassador for the Pope, who hoped to get military help from the Emperor against the Lombard, but he had little success and returned to Rome. After a short while a violent flood struck Rome, followed by a ravaging plague. The Pope, who was already sick, died and the people acclaimed Gregory as Pope. At first Gregory was upset and wanted to refuse, but then he accepted and was appointed Pope in 590. As Pope, Gregory passed a series of major reforms to restore rigour to the Church and improve its internal organisation. He supported monasteries and dedicated himself to an extensive renovation of the Curia by strengthening the Pope’s role and his nature of Centre of the Church. Pressed by the expansion of the Lombards, he strove to reach an agreement and return a long lost peace to the Italian peninsula. Gregory the Great is also famous for his major efforts to spread Christianity and the Catholic faith among peoples who were still pagans or Arians. Gregory is also renowned and remembered for his thorough renewal of the liturgy and for his support and promotion of chant that, for this reason is known as Gregorian chant and also for the many epistles he wrote. When he died (604), he left the Church stronger than ever, at a time of great instability and dangers to Rome.

Bernini, the greatest exponent of the Baroque, moved to Rome in 1605. Initially, Gian Lorenzo worked along his father, who was a sculptor too and thanks to him he came under the patronage of Cardinal Scipione Borghese. His first works immediately showed his enormous talent and his skill in imitating perfectly the Classical age sculptures. Between 1621 and 1625 he realized some of the most famous sculptures, such as Aeneas, Anchises and Ascanius and the Rape of Proserpina . Between 1623 and 1676 he gave life to a series of works that forever changed the face of Rome: the Colonnade and the Baldachin at St. Peter’s Basilica, the Ecstasy of St. Teresa and famous fountains like the Fountain of Four Rivers are just some of the wonders that he created in that period.

Located in Tivoli, just outside Rome, Villa Adriana is part of the UNESCO Heritage list since 1999. Built between 118 and 138 AD by Emperor Hadrian (76-138 AD), can be called a suburban royal villa. Spread over a green, well watered areas, the villa includes residential buildings, baths, gardens and lily ponds. Its connection with the capital depends primarily on the figure of Hadrian, to whom we owe the realization not only of this villa but also of the Temple of Venus and, in Rome, the reconstruction of the Pantheon and the construction of a circular mausoleum, currently known as Castel Sant’Angelo. Another very important aspect is that the criteria and tenets or Roman architecture are applied here in a very original way, a fact that is reflected also by the distribution of the buildings that make up the Villa.

Verona still retains substantial vestiges of the Roman period. A World Heritage Site since 2002, Verona is the Veneto city where the traditional Roman orthogonal city plan and the main public monuments built by the Romans are best preserved. The remains of the theatre, the amphitheatre and the forum square are just the largest, most easily visible finds that tell the story of Roman Verona. To truly learn all of the history one must not only see the in situ finds but also visit the most important museums of the city, which contain numerous material evidence (statues, mosaics, inscriptions and ceramics).

Arian: a practitioner of Arianism, a religious heresy spread by Arius (4th century AD) Arians claim that the Son (Christ) is not of the same nature of the Father (God). Arianism was condemned by the Council of Nicaea (325 AD).

Basilica: Ancient Roman rectangular plan building, generally used for public purposes such as judiciary or administrative activities or trading. In Christian times, the Basilica became a religious building whose structure was still based on the Roman and divided along its length by colonnades in three or more naves; the central nave is usually the largest and tallest of all naves and ends in a semicircular or polygonal apse covered by a vault.

Charisma: charm, prestige, force of personality; in religious language the charisma is God’s gift, the supernatural grace. A charismatic person is someone who has an exceptional personal magnetism, one who can fascinate others and carries the same authority of a leader.

Cenobitic: related to cenobitism, a monastic tradition focussed on communal life. Unlike a hermit, who chooses solitude, a cenobite monk retreats into a community of brothers and shares with them prayer, liturgy, study, work and other everyday activities in the monastery.

Epistle: letter, missive.

Infrastructure: in architecture, an element that supports another, a component that supports a structure; in common usage it can also mean all public services (roads, hospitals, schools) that are essential for the survival of human settlements.

Patrician: noble, aristocrat, belonging to the ruling class; in ancient Rome, a Patrician was the son of a free man who was also of noble birth.

Pillaging: looting, plundering a building, monument or area, stripping it of anything valuable.