Rome (Latin and Italian Roma [roma] (listen)), is the capital city and a special comune of Italy (named Comune di Roma Capitale). Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region. With 2,879,728 residents in 1,285 km2 (496.1 sq mi),[1] it is also the country's most populated comune. It is the third most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the centre of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4,355,725 residents, thus making it the second or third most populous metropolitan city in Italy depending on definition.

Geography[edit]

Location[edit]

Rome is in the Lazio region of central Italy on the Tiber (Italian: Tevere) river. The original settlement developed on hills that faced onto a ford beside the Tiber Island, the only natural ford of the river in this area. The Rome of the Kings was built on seven hills: the Aventine Hill, the Caelian Hill, the Capitoline Hill, the Esquiline Hill, the Palatine Hill, the Quirinal Hill, and the Viminal Hill. Modern Rome is also crossed by another river, the Aniene, which flows into the Tiber north of the historic centre.

Although the city centre is about 24 kilometres (15 mi) inland from the Tyrrhenian Sea, the city territory extends to the shore, where the south-western district of Ostia is located.

Religion[edit]

Main article: Religion in Rome

Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran, Rome's Cathedral, built in 324, and partly rebuilt between 1660-1734

Religion in Rome (2015), Percentage[103][104][105][106][107][108]Roman Catholicism82.0Other or non-religious8.0Eastern Orthodoxy4.0Protestantism0.8Judaism0.7Islam3.8Hinduism0.4Buddhism0.3

Much like the rest of Italy, Rome is predominantly Roman Catholic, and the city has been an important centre of religion and pilgrimage for centuries, the base of the ancient Roman religion with the pontifex maximus and later the seat of the Vatican and the pope. Before the arrival of the Christians in Rome, the Religio Romana (literally, the "Roman Religion") was the major religion of the city in classical antiquity.

Culture[edit]

Main article: Culture in Rome

Entertainment and performing arts[edit]

Main articles: Music of Rome and Events in Rome

The Teatro dell'Opera di Roma at the Piazza Beniamino Gigli

Rome is an important centre for music, and it has an intense musical scene, including several prestigious music conservatories and theatres. It hosts the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (founded in 1585), for which new concert halls have been built in the new Parco della Musica, one of the largest musical venues in the world. Rome also has an opera house, the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, as well as several minor musical institutions. The city also played host to the Eurovision Song Contest in 1991 and the MTV Europe Music Awards in 2004.

chisinau

Chișinău (/kna/ KISH-ih-NOW, also US: /kiina/ KEE-shee-NOW, Romanian: [kiinw] (listen)), also known as Kishinev (Russian: Кишинёв, tr. Kishinjóv [knf]), is the capital and largest city[9] of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial center, and is located in the middle of the country, on the river Bâc, a tributary of the Dniester. According to the results of the 2014 census, the city proper had a population of 532,513, while the population of the Municipality of Chișinău (which includes the city itself and other nearby communities) was 662,836.[4] Chișinău is the most economically prosperous locality in Moldova and its largest transportation hub.

Geography[edit]

Chișinău is located on the river Bâc, a tributary of the Dniester, at 47°0N 28°55E, with an area of 120 km2 (46 sq mi). The municipality comprises 635 km2 (245 sq mi).

The city lies in central Moldova and is surrounded by a relatively level landscape with very fertile ground.

Religion[edit]

Chișinău is the seat of the Moldovan Orthodox Church, as well as of the Metropolis of Bessarabia. The city has multiple churches and synagogues.[20]

Christians – 90.0%Orthodox Christians – 88.4%Protestant – 1.2%Baptists – 0.6%Evangelicals – 0.4%Pentecostals – 0.2%Seventh-day Adventists – 0.1%Roman Catholics – 0.4%Other – 1.0%No religion – 1.4%Atheists – 1.5%Undeclared – 6.1%