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Rome

Capital of ItalyRome is in the central-western part of the Italian Peninsula, in the Lazio region, on the River Tiber about 25 km from the sea at Ostia.

Why it's the capital

Rome was the capital of the Roman Kingdom, then of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. In 1871 it became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, which became the Italian Republic in 1946.

Fun facts

  1. According to Roman legend, the twins Romulus and Remus founded the city, and Roman writers gave the date as 21 April 753 BC.
  2. The Roman poet Tibullus first called it the Eternal City in the 1st century BC.
  3. The Colosseum, completed in AD 80 under Emperor Titus, is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built.

Finding it on the globe

Picture Italy as a boot: Rome is about halfway down, on the western side, a short way inland from the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Easy to mix up

Vatican City, a separate country, lies inside Rome, the only country within a city. On the globe the two capitals are almost the same spot.

Sources: Wikipedia: Rome, Wikipedia: Tiber, Wikipedia: Colosseum