The Urban Landscape of Rome

According to tradition, Rome was founded in 753 bc on one of the Seven Hills—a term used for centuries to describe the Capitoline, Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, Caelian, Aventine, and Palatine hills surrounding the old community.

Archaeological evidence indicates, however, that human settlement here dates from at least 1000 bc.

The Capitoline Hill (Monte Capitoline) was long the seat of Rome’s government, and the Palatine Hill was the site of such great structures as the Palace of the Flavians, built by the Roman emperor Domitian.

As a result of construction through the centuries, most of the Seven Hills are now hardly distinguishable from the adjacent plain. Other hills of Rome include the Pincian (Pincio) and the Janiculum.

Rome today is easily divided into two regions: the inner city, within the Aurelian Wall, built in the late 3rd century ad to enclose the area around the Seven Hills; and the sprawling outer city, with its suburbs.

The historical center is a small area, located almost entirely on the eastern (left) bank of the Tiber.

The monuments of Rome’s past greatness are, for the most part, within the historical center, in stark contrast to the modern districts.

The street pattern of the city reflects its long and complex history.

The Via del Corso traverses most of the historic center from the Piazza Venezia, the geographic center of Rome, to the Piazza del Popolo, at the foot of Pincio Hill. Its use dates from the Middle Ages, when it was a horse-racing course.

The monument to Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of united Italy, built between 1895 and 1911, forms part of the Piazza Venezia.

Other thoroughfares, such as the Via Vittorio Veneto, which commemorates Italy’s final victory in World War I (1914-1918) and is at the heart of the tourist area, were designed and built since the late 19th century.

One of the largest public parks in Rome, the Villa Borghese, lies on Pincio Hill, north of the historic center.