When in Rome:

When in Rome...

Comparing cities from any era is definitely not one of the easiest tasks. To compare two different cities from two different eras isn't a piece of cake either, but when you have the advantage of being able to write about a city from your first hand accounts, you come to appreciate the history of people and their cultural roots. Rome, the modern city and the ancient Empire. They are different yet strikingly similar and the current topic up for debate. Debating, I am sure, was done feverishly in Ancient Rome, just like it must be done now, a glance at similarity. Whether this debating took place in the bathhouses of 300AD, or in the current Roman government buildings, this is still constant in most societies. So first, we will see the comparison between Ancient Rome, and the modern city of Rome, introducing various aspects of Roman life. Also, the ancient customs seen in the Roman Empire influenced, in part, not only how the modern city of Rome works, but also how other parts of the world work. While ancient monuments and buildings may cluster the Roman cityscape, the current city must proceed and evolve to accommodate its population, yet it should never forget its heritage.

To start, modern-day Rome is the capital city of Italy and of Lazio. The city lies on the Tiber River in the central part of Italy's mainland near the Tyrrhenian Sea. Also worthy of acknowledgment is Vatican City(The Holy See.), which was recognized as an independent state by the Italian government in 1929(Geography of Rome.). Rome has come to be known as the Eternal City, mainly because of its importance as one of the great cities in the western world, and as the capital of the ancient Roman Empire. This Empire holds legacies upon legacies of information because of the fact that it lasted so long. To be exact, the duration of the Roman expansion lasted from the 8th century to the 1st century BC. Rome grew from a tiny settlement to an Empire that saw rule by Royals, and Emperors. Roughly 3,000 years ago, shepherds built the first huts seen on the mountains in central Italy, each hut belonged to a camp, and with time, the camps merged to become the city of Rome. Unlike other great European cities like Paris or England, Rome actually comprises many cities. This first city of Rome was the catalyst for the Roman Empire, which grew and spread like wildfire. Rome, in fact, extended its control over all of Italy, and later, the boundaries stretched from England to North Africa and from the Atlantic Ocean to Arabia. The development of the city took place from 753BC to 509BC, which also corresponds to the rule of Rome by a monarch. The next period was when the Romans expelled the Kings and set up a Republic from 509BC to 27BC. After the Roman Republic collapsed, emperors took over from 27BC to 476AD, where the Empire thrived for another five centuries. Rome holds the information of the past. It is not uncommon in modern Rome to see today what one may have seen in the ancient Empire of Rome. They too had a specific culture and had political institutions, although it took time for the people to evolve into what we see today. Around the time of 1870, Rome held a population of 226,000, and the people were living in the past. In contrast with today's Roman population of upwards of 2,675,000, we can see that the city continues to expand. Today Rome acts as the central nerve of Italy and the Roman Catholic Church. It also incorporates major headquarters and international agencies, making Rome a city of worldwide importance. Education was a key aspect in ancient Roman life as it is in modern Roman life with major educational institutions, particularly the countries largest center of higher education: the University of Rome, whose attendance in the mid-1990s was about 185,000 students. Rome is also home to creative and performing arts that are unparalleled by other cities because it represents an aspect of life in Italy. Opera is performed in the Opera House and at the Baths of Caracalla(InfoRoma). The cities is also the site of about 20 theaters and 6 major concert halls, with various shows year in and year out.

Ancient Rome stretches its influence over our planet to an infinite degree. Today, in the 21st century, we are still using devices or methods that were initially used or invented by the Romans(Romans-britans.org). The Roman calendar is a perfect example of this, even though it was essentially a religious document. This is the case because some of the months were named after gods, including January for Janus, and March for Mars, the war god. Originally, the Roman calendar began with March so the month of September took its name from the Latin septem for seven. October came from octo for eight, et cetera. The days of the week were also named from gods, but the English language uses the Germanic counterparts unlike French, and the other Romance languages. In 45BC Julius Caesar revised the calendar so that it reflected the solar year, making it 365 days long with an extra day every four years. This is today's calendar and a prime example of the Roman influence over most of today's way of life. Entire towns in North Africa are primary examples of Rome's former control. Cities throughout Western Europe actually stand on Roman foundations, literally and culturally.

To maintain the ancient wonders of Rome, the historical center of Rome is located almost