Hotel Cortina Rome

History of Rome

According to legend, Rome was founded in 753 BC by twin sons Romulus and Remus who were raised by a she-wolf. During its twelve-century history, the Roman civilization shifted from a monarchy to an oligarchic republic to a immense empire. Since then it has been continously inhabited, and, as headquaters first of the Roman Empire and then of the Roman Catholic Church, it has had an immense impact on the world.

Rome began as an Iron Age hut village, founded in the mid-8th century BC.

In 616, the Romans' sophisticated Etruscan neighbours seized power, but were ousted in 509, the inception of the Roman Republic. It conquered most of the rest of Italy, then turned its attentions overseas, and by the 1st century BC, ruled Spain, North Africa and Greece. The expansion of the Roman Empire provided opportunities for power-hungry individuals, and the clashing of egos led to colaps of democracy.

Caesar Julius Caesar ruled for a time as dictator, and his nephew Octavian became Rome's first emperor, assuming the title Augustus. During the reign of Augustus, Christ was born, and though Christians were persecuted until the 4th century, the new religion took hold and Rome became the main centre of Christianity.

Even though it was the seat of the papacy, during the Middle Ages Rome went into decline. The city recovered spectacularly in the mid-15th century, and for over 200 years was embellished by the greatest artists of the Renaissance and the Baroque.

Finally, in 1870, Rome became the capital of the newly unified Italy.