Rome, Italy’s capital is a homonymous province and the region of Lazio with 2.7 million residents. It is the country's largest and most populated commune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. The city is in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber within Lazio (Latium). Rome has the status of the global city. It is the only city in the world to contain in its interior a whole state; the enclave of Vatican City. Rome is the 11th most visited city in the world, 3rd most visited in the European Union and the most popular tourist attraction in Italy. The city is one of Europe's and the world's most successful city "brands", both in terms of reputation and assests.It is a sprawling, cosmopolitan city with nearly 3,000 years of globally influential art, architecture and culture on display. Ancient ruins such as the Forum and the Colosseum evoke the power of the former Roman Empire. Vatican City, headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church, has St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museums, which house masterpieces such as Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel frescoes.

Rome’s history spans more than two and a half thousand years. While Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at only around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Europe.The city’s early population originated from a mix of Latin’s, Etruscans and Sabine’s. Eventually, the city successively became the capital of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, and is regarded as one of the birthplaces of Western civilization and by some as the first ever metropolis. It is referred to as “Roma Aeterna” (The Eternal City) and “Caput Mundi” (Capital of the World), two central notions in ancient Roman culture.