Present-Day Rome

A little over a century ago, Rome was a quiet city with a population (1870 estimate) of 226,000; its people were living largely in the past.

It is today not only the capital and nerve center of Italy but, as the seat of the Roman Catholic church and the headquarters of major international agencies and multinational corporations, a city that has assumed a place of worldwide importance.

Population (2005 estimate) 2,553,873.