34 Interesting Facts About Rome To Learn Before Boarding The Plane

There are rules protecting wild cat colonies since Italians have a strong fondness for cats. Cats are allowed to roam freely anywhere they like, even famous historical sites. Anyone who hurts a cat in Italy may be charged with a crime.

It's accepted that bruschetta was created in Italy in the fifteenth century. However, the dish can be traced back to Ancient Rome when olive growers would deliver their olives to a nearby olive press and test a sample of their freshly extracted oil using a slice of bread. Today still, bruschetta is a well-liked antipasto (appetizer) in Rome.

Rome boasts more fountains than any other city in the world, over 2000 in all, including 50 monumental fountains and hundreds of smaller ones.

You must have heard of the Trevi fountain’s coin tradition: Facing away from the fountain, visitors must throw a coin over their shoulder, hoping it will land in the fountain. According to a legend, dropping one coin into the fountain means you will return to Rome; dropping two coins signifies that you will return and fall in love, and dropping three coins means you will return, fall in love, and get married!

Although St. Peter’s Basilica is a revered gathering place and a top tourist destination in Vatican City, it also has another purpose. It is claimed to be Saint Peter’s final resting place, whose tomb is said to be situated beneath the Basilica’s high altar.

No building in the central district of Rome, which is bounded by the Aurelian Walls, can be taller than the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica, which rises 136 meters. Torre Eurosky (Eurosky Tower), a skyscraper constructed in the EUR neighborhood in 2012 (outside the ban area), is 155 meters high and the only building surpassing this cap.

It was difficult, if not burdensome, to put on a toga. The fabric strip was folded lengthwise, with one end tossed over the left shoulder, a toga over the back, the other end slid under the right shoulder, and the other end put over the left shoulder from the front. Wealthier citizens possessed a specialized slave called vestiplicus to facilitate this exceedingly intricate task.

It’s believed that Trajan’s Market was the world’s first enclosed shopping center. Apparently, a wide range of products, including groceries, were sold there.

It makes perfect sense that the only pasta museum in the world is situated in Rome, Italy, as the country is known for having perfected the skill of combining flour, water, and salt.

With the motto “Only Paris is worthy of Rome; only Rome is worthy of Paris,” Rome and Paris have been solely and reciprocally twinned with each other since April 9, 1956.

A Roman Holiday (1953), Ben Hur (1959), La Dolce Vita (1960), Cleopatra (1963), Romeo and Juliet (1968), and numerous other well-known movies have all been produced in Cinecittà studios. As you can see, the studios are used for both American and Italian film productions. Hence, it is highly likely that a movie you liked was made in these studios!

Rome was a candidate for capital because of its symbolic significance in Italian history as the site of the former Roman Empire and its even more favorable position. The relocation to Rome was underway when the Franco-Prussian War broke out in 1870.

Rome contains more than 900 churches, which is not surprising given that no other city is as closely linked to the Catholic faith.

While many Romans constructed ornate tombs by the side of the road, Christians interred their deceased in maze-like catacombs. By digging through the pliable tufa stone, miles of underground tunnels were created, providing graves for many ordinary Christians, saints, and martyrs.

These Baroque 18th-century steps, which descend from Trinità dei Monti church to Piazza di Spagna below, were created by an Italian architect at the request of a French diplomat. The plaza and the square itself both have the names of the nearby Spanish Embassy to the Holy See.

According to the Roman foundation myth, the twins Romulus and Remus were left in the woods under King Amulius of Alba Longa’s command. A she-wolf (lupa in Italian) nursed and protected them until a shepherd named Faustulus found them.

Roman women were very fond of dying their hair. Red, black, and blonde were the most popular colors. Even by law, prostitutes were required to be blonde to set themselves apart from regular Romans. Still, the locals continued to color their hair despite this.  Different substances, including goat fat, beech wood ash, henna, saffron, and bleach, were used to create different colors.

Romulus and his twin brother Remus are said to have founded Rome on April 21, 753 B.C., just at the site where they were nursed by a she-wolf as orphaned infants.

Rome is one of the world’s most culturally diverse cities, and museums are a terrific way to learn about its history and culture. Museums in Rome are also home to masterpieces by artists such as Michelangelo, Raphael, Bernini, Caravaggio, Cavallini, and many others.

Smoking is prohibited in indoor public places and workplaces, such as those used by the government, healthcare and educational institutions, and facilities frequented by minors. However, smoking is allowed in designated smoking areas in some public places and workplaces, such as bars and nightclubs.

The idiom "All roads lead to Rome" refers to the notion that all decisions, strategies, or activities yield the same outcome. However, this remark had a more literal connotation throughout the early Roman era. All important highways in the Roman Empire indeed led straight to the capital, which was served by an advanced network of roads.

The most cherished of the nine Castelli Romani (Roman Castles), Frascati wines are often called "golden wine" by locals due to their golden hue and high price. The fermenting process, which is carried out in this area with the grapes still "in their skins," is what gives the wine its color.

The Sapienza served as the leading educational institution for the majority of the Italian aristocracy. Multiple Nobel laureates, presidents of the European Parliament and European Commissioners, heads of several countries, prominent religious figures, scientists, and astronauts are just a few of the renowned graduates Sapienza has fostered.

In the Latin language used in ancient Rome, the city’s original name was Roma. Romulus, who founded the city, is most likely to account for the name.

When Virginia Raggi was elected mayor of the Eternal City in 2016, it was a significant victory for 5-Star ahead of national polls two years later when it received nearly twice as many votes as its closest competitor.

Rome tops the list of the Italian cities that travelers worldwide most enjoy visiting, welcoming 25 million foreign visitors annually. The Colosseum, St. Peter's Basilica, and the Trevi Fountain are just a few reasons why the Italian capital is still regarded as the Eternal City.

Isola Tiberina (Tiber Island), a little island within the River Tiber, is situated in Rome. It is tiny and barely 270 meters long. However, the Ponte Cestio and Ponte Fabricio bridges make it easy to access.

Apart from that, Rome held the title of the biggest city in the world for 550 years, from 100 BC to 450 AD. This includes a 250-year span at the beginning of the first millennium when the population of Italy’s capital reached 1 million.

With a surface area of only 0.2 square miles, or about 120 times that of Manhattan Island, Vatican City is the smallest country in the world. Also, it is the only country in the world located inside another city.

According to unrivaled city portraitist Renzo Vespignani, Rome’s color is the yellow ocher of burnt bread, which is, unsurprisingly, a combination of red and gold.

Already well-known, Oscar Wilde pondered taking his fiancée, Constance, on a honeymoon in Rome in 1884 but decided to take her to Normandy and Paris instead. Wilde didn’t spend a lot of time in Rome until near the end of his life.

The XVII Olympiad, or the 1960 Olympic Games, took place in Rome, Italy, from August 25 to September 11, 1960. There were a lot of firsts at these Olympics, such as the first time they were shown on television, the first time the Olympic Anthem was played, and the first time an Olympic winner ran barefoot!

Roma Termini will probably be a stopover on your itinerary, regardless of how you arrive in Rome: by plane, train, or boat. The neighborhood of Termini, which took its name from the Roman baths (thermae) that were once present there, is where the name for the station originates from.

The city's Christmas celebrations officially begin with the Christmas tree lighting in Piazza Venezia. All of this represents the start of the holiday season. And whatever your opinion of the moniker "Spelacchio" (which translates as "Mangy" or "Baldy") that the Romans and the press gave the tree, it is undeniable that this moment is too firmly rooted in tradition to be allowed to pass by.