CITY

Rome: City Flag, History and Identity

Rome lies on the Tiber and is a capital with many historical layers lying one above the other. Ancient monuments, church facilities and baroque squares characterize different parts of the city. The simple red-golden city flag stands for the Commune of Rome, whose territory and tasks differ from those of the small sovereign Vatican state.

Test your knowledge →

Rome City Flag & Local History · supplied learning collection

Rome at a glance

Name: Rome
Country: Italy
Profile type: City
Urban river: Tiber
Region: Latium
Historic hill: palatine
Other traditional hills: Aventin and Capitol
Historical wall ring: Aurelian wall
World Heritage Registration: 1980, later expanded
Sovereign neighbour in the urban fabric: Vatican City
Traditional town foundation: 753 v. Chr.; expressly a founding tradition

The Flag of Rome

The selected city flag consists of two equally wide vertical paths: dark red on the mast, next to gold yellow. In this illustration, a coat of arms is not fitted. Just this reduced form should be remembered, because Rome has numerous other known signs, which are not part of the flag image here.

Red and golden yellow are the traditional colors of the city. The flag must therefore not be confused with the yellow-white flag of Vatican City. Even the Capitoline wolf or the letters SPQR are connected to Rome, but do not appear on the simple two-colored city flag used here.

Rome: Location and Territorial Role

Rome is the capital of the Italian Republic and is located in the region of Lazio. The Tiber runs through the city. Within the Roman urban landscape lies an independent state with the Vatican City. This special neighbourhood explains why municipal, Italian and Vatican institutions are spatially close together but legally belong to different levels.

The historic city centre cannot be reduced to a single centre. The ancient forum, the Capitol Hill and later squares form various reference points. The Aurelian Wall marks an important historical framework. The current municipal area extends far beyond; the old town and the entire commune are therefore not interchangeable terms.

Landscape, History and Culture

The famous seven hills belong to the historical narrative of the city, including Palatine, Aventine and Capitol. The river was both a transport route and a recurring threat of flooding. With the high bank fortifications of the nineteenth century, the relationship between city and water changed: The Tiber remained central, but became more separated from the daily street space.

The history of Romulus and Remus and the founding year 753 BC belong to the Roman tradition. They are to be read as a founding legend, not as an archaeologically secure report. Historically, Rome was successively the center of the republic and the empire; later Christian institutions and papal building commissions shaped its development.

UNESCO praises Rome as a testimony to an urban landscape that has grown over thousands of years. The World Heritage also includes certain extraterritorial possessions of the Holy See and the Basilica of San Paolo fuori le Mura. Recognition does not therefore mean that every building in today's municipal area would automatically be part of the registered site.

Forum and Palatine

At the Forum and on the Palatine it becomes particularly clear how closely political representation, religion and urban history were connected in antiquity. Ruins and terrain forms are common to the understanding of the place. The location of the Palatine also makes one of the traditionally mentioned seven hills directly experienceable.

Piazza Navona

Piazza Navona is one of the large baroque urban spaces within the World Heritage. It shows a different phase of Rome than the ancient forums. The juxtaposition of such places with older monuments makes the city centre a spatial history book whose chapters did not originate in a single epoch.

Bridges over the Tiber

Ponte Fabricio, Ponte Sisto and Ponte Sant’Angelo represent different historical connections across the river. From the bridges, the shore walls and the location of the city on the water can be understood. The river appears at the same time as a boundary between quarters and as a connecting axis of city history.