Ancient Romans believed their city had been founded on 21 April 753 BC, and more recent archaeological discoveries pretty much back this up. According to myth, the city was founded by the twin sons of Mars, god of war, and Rhea Silvia, princess and (until meeting Mars) vestal virgin. The twins, Romulus and Remus, were abandoned on the shores of the Tiber and brought up by a she-wolf. Romulus killed his brother in a battle over who should govern, then established the city of Rome on the Palatino.

The non mythical city was ruled by Etruscan kings until 510 BC, when it became a republic. By the 2nd century BC the city controlled central and southern Italy, had defeated the rival empire of Carthage in three Punic wars and was poised to take over the whole Mediterranean. But as Rome became more powerful abroad, its citizens got more uppity at home - the city suffered several civil wars, with the last wrapping up on the Ides of March, 44 BC, when Brutus backstabbed Julius Caesar.

The Republic ended and the emperors took over, ushering in a frenzy of civic and monumental building. Each emperor wanted to leave his mark on the city - Nero built the Domus Aurea, Vespasian the Colosseum, Trajan his eponymous column, Hadrian Castel Sant'Angelo - and in their eagerness to outdo one another, they sprinkled Rome with many of the famous buildings that still stand today. The Empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan (who ruled from 98-117 AD), spanning the area from northern England to Mesopotamia, north to the River Danube and south down the Nile.

With the rise of Christianity in the 4th century, Rome lost much of its secular power but became the centre of a new empire, Christendom. The Bishop of Rome was named successor to Saint Peter (or, in other words, Pope), which made him the big guy of Western Europe. Many of the city's large basilicas - such as Santa Croce, Santa Maria Maggiore, San Pietro and San Sebastiano - were built around this time.

When, in 410 AD, the Barbarian invasions began, Rome waved goodbye to the last of its salad days. Although the Vandals are often blamed for the sack of Rome, the citizens themselves did more damage, stripping many of the city's fine buildings for their marble. The Western Roman Empire bit the dust in 476 AD when Odoacer deposed Emperor Romulus Augustulus - from this time on power moved east, and Germanic and Byzantine leaders bickered over who was the real emperor. Things looked grim for the Eternal City until the late 8th century, when Pope Stephen II backed up the claims of Frankish king Pepin the Short that he was the chosen of God, and in return received a parcel of land around Rome. The alliance became known as the Holy Roman Empire - combining the power of church and state - and on Christmas Day 800 AD the Frankish king, Charlemagne, was crowned Holy Roman Emperor

The founding of Rome is enveloped in myth:the story goes that the first city center sprang up in 753 B.C.on the Palatine hill,built by Romulus after he had killed his twin brother Remus.Romulus was the first of the seven kings of Rome,who started off the basic characteristics of this city that would go on to make Rome powerful throughout the ancient world: public works, institutional reforms, aqueducts.
With the arrival of the Republic, Rome increased its expansion policy and after the Punic Wars, Carthage, Corsica and Sardinia were all annexed to the Republic.
The end of the Republic determined the beginning of Silla’s dictatorship (82 B.C.)
The dictator Caius Julius Caesar oversaw a period of heavy expansion overseas. He was assassinated in 44 B.C.
The Emperor Octavius Augustus brought Rome to its “golden era”: a lengthy period of peace and stability, which was celebrated with monumental works of art.
Many emperors came after him, each of whom was famous for some work, conquest or edict. Under Traianus, the empire enjoyed its period of maximum expansion and reached as far as ruling land that stretched from the Danube to the Nile.

With the passing of the years, the city became increasingly Christian, while the empire fell into a fatal period of difficulty. The Pope became more and more powerful, building the grounds for the birth of the Holy Roman Empire (800 A.D.), which gave rise to the coronation of Charlemagne by the Pope.

The Church’s power continued to increase and Rome became the representation of this power on earth. Between 1300 and 1600, many churches were built, beautifully painted with frescoes by Renaissance artists such as Raffaello and Michelangelo. Crowds of pilgrims flocked to the Eternal City from all over the world to admire its Baroque squares, its fountains and its monumental basilicas.

After the patriotic unrest that started in 1848 and which was headed by Garibaldi, a plebiscite approved the annexing of Rome to the Kingdom of Italy in 1870, which set up its official center in the city soon after.

Starting from 1920, Rome was shaken by the terrible rise to power of Fascism that culminated in the pact made between the Italian Government and Nazi Germany.
After Italy was liberated by the Allies during the Second World War, a referendum held on June 2nd 1946 sanctioned the end of the monarchy and the beginning of the Republic.