Interesting Facts About Rome

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Interesting Facts About Rome

Rome is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It has a very distinct architecture and on top of that it also has a rich history too. All of these things combined show the true prowess of Rome and it brings in front extraordinary places for you to check out. For a lot of people Rome is an urban forest, but at the same time it’s also a combination of old and new.

Rome is one of the few cities in Europe that actually showcases his history and which keeps a true focus on its history. Only a few places out there will be so appealing and interesting, and Rome is definitely one of them. Here you have a list with some very interesting facts about Rome, from ancient to current times.

Rome was founded by Romulus and Remus

At least that’s what the legend says. Rome was created by Remus and Romulus, two brothers that were abandoned soon after birth and they were both raised by a wolf. They went on to come back to the society and that’s where they ended up becoming one of the best founding fathers of Rome. But as you can imagine, as soon as they became rules they started arguing with each other. Remus died, so Romulus became the sole ruler and used his name for the city, which is quite amazing in its own right.

Shopping malls originate from Rome

Believe it or not, Rome is the origin of your day to day shopping mall. The first shopping mall was built by emperor Trajan and it had multiple levels where sellers could sell their foods, clothes and spices. Sure, it was rudimentary, but this was the first thing similar to a shopping mall. Other civilizations took this idea and they expanded it in order to create the modern day malls that we see nowadays. Yet this is where shopping malls come from!

They used urine for a variety of things

What a lot of people don’t know is that ancient Rome wasn’t only white robes and a great societal system. People in ancient Rome also used urine for a variety of tasks. For example, they used it as a great way to wash clothes. Some people would also use urine in order to make their teeth white. It sounds gross if you think about it right now, but these uses are perfectly justifiable. Urine is acidic so it makes sense to use it for whitening teeth. The same thing goes when it comes to cleaning clothes. Sure, it doesn’t sound sanitary but it worked very well during those times and that’s maybe the thing that matters the most.

What is Saturnalia?

A lot of people that visit Rome hear about Saturnalia. This is something that doesn’t exist nowadays, but it was a pivotal part of Ancient Rome. The thing to note here is that this was an Ancient Roman festival and it was created specifically to appreciate the god Saturn. It was during this day when slaves and slave masters switched places for example. It was also the time when people were able to gamble if they wanted and masters were offering table service for slaves too. This was the type of day when anything shifted and that did end up being a very interesting way for people that lived in ancient Rome to spruce things up a little bit.

Are there really 7 hills in Rome?

You will notice that most people say Rome is a city built on 7 hills. But not a lot of people actually sat down to see if this is true. However, it is true and the hills are named Aventine, Viminal, Quirinal, Palatine, Esquiline, Capitoline and Caelian. However, that’s what was valid during the Ancient Rome times. Nowadays Rome has expanded quite a lot, so now it’s existing on multiple hills, not only one. This is quite exciting but also very interesting, because you get to see just how much Rome has expanded in the past few decades.

Life expectancy was not that great during Ancient Rome times

Just because Ancient Rome seems so posh and interesting nowadays, that doesn’t mean life was easy during those times. Not at all actually. The life expectancy of people in the ancient Rome times was super low, around 20-30 years. Remember that there were a lot of wars during that time. Not only that, but people just didn’t have a good healthcare system and other stuff like that. And as you know all the minor things matter when it comes to stuff like this. Which is why the life expectancy was super low. And in the end it wasn’t the best place to live in, that’s for sure.

There was a law protecting cats

And that law remains valid even today. In fact, nowadays you will see that there are 200000 or so cats living on the Streets of Rome. That’s a huge number, and it all comes down to the law that protects these animals and allows them to enjoy life in the city. It’s quite strange to learn this, but then again it makes a lot of sense to see that there’s actually a law protecting cats.

The Colosseum could host 8000 spectators

There are some stadiums nowadays that host less spectators, so you can imagine how impressive and important the Colosseum really was thousands of years ago. It was the biggest and largest amphitheater in the entire world at that time. Even nowadays the Colosseum is an iconic piece of engineering and it impresses people from all over the world with its size and prowess.

Only men wore a toga

If you see movies or documentaries regarding ancient Rome, you will notice that a lot of people wore a toga. However, only men were allowed to wear a toga. But why did they wear? This was actually a sign of distinction. It shows that you were born a free man and not a slave. This is very interesting and it shows the discrepancy that Romans had between a free person and a slave. Things did change quite a lot in the next centuries, but it’s still interesting to see the importance that a toga had at that particular time.

The first university in Rome was built in 1303

What a lot of people don’t know is that Rome is home to lots of universities. The first university in Rome was built in 1303 and it was La Sapienza. This is the largest university in Europe and the second largest in the world. It goes to show the true focus that people in Rome have on culture and expressing themselves. It really is a very distinct thing to consider and one of the most important features that you can find nowadays!

Rome has a museum dedicated to pasta

We all know that pasta originates from Italy, but not a lot of people realize that Rome actually has a museum dedicated to pasta. It really is an insane thing and it brings in front some pretty interesting information regarding Rome as a whole. That’s the type of thing that you will like quite a lot and it’s definitely one of the nicer opportunities and features that you can find out there.

Women dyed their hair with beech wood ashes and goat fat

These were the materials that were able to change the hair color for women at that time. Sure, these are not the best nor the most flattering materials that you could use for stuff like this. But it’s definitely important to note just how much value you can get from goat fat and beech wood ashes. You will appreciate the tremendous value and attention to detail that you get from stuff like this, and the experience is a very distinct one due to that. It goes to show that women cared about their look when it came to ancient Rome.

Rome became the capital of Unified Italy in 1870

It took the spot from Florence, which is a bit strange if you think about it. Rome was the capital of Italy for a very long time, but a lot of things changed throughout history. Which is what makes this so interesting, because Rome has always shifted when it came to its importance. It always retained the cultural and economic center title, but there were times during history when it wasn’t the capital of Italy.

Modern Rome has no less than 280 fountains

On top of that, you can find 900 churches in Rome as well. Many of these are from the ancient times and they are preserved in a very good condition. What this shows is how much people in Rome care about the old relics, no matter their nature. It really is something very different when compared to other large cities.

Around 700000 euros are tossed in the Rome’s Trevi Fountain

The Trevi Fountain is a place where a lot of people toss a coin for good luck. And when all is said and done, the authorities gather around 700k Euros from the fountain. These proceeds are donated to the Caritas in order to help people that are in dire need of help. This shows just how much people are visiting Rome and how popular the Fountain really is.

Vatican is the smallest state in the world

What you may not think about is that Vatican may be a part of Rome physically, but it’s a state on its own. And that makes it the smallest state in the world. You can find 11 museums in Vatican city alone. But there are around 1000 museums, which makes it the largest museum complex in the entire world.

Rome is known as the Eternal City

The city was named Caput Mundi, which can be translated as the Eternal City or the Capital of the world. And honestly, this is not exaggerating that much, because Rome was well ahead of its time during the ancient times. Its inventions were well in front of everything that was happening at that particular time. And if anything, it shows the true evolution of various places and locations that you can still visit and appreciate nowadays.

Romans are very superstitious

When you go to Rome you will notice that a lot of people are superstitious. This has been the norm for a very long time. That’s quite interesting, considering that they are the ones who built a massive empire to begin with. But they were and still are quite superstitious. Not that it’s a bad thing, but it definitely seems to show that even the largest empires in the world may have a sense of weakness. Which is not a bad thing in the end if you think about it.

98% of Rome’s population is Roman Catholic

Just like any other region, Rome also has multiple religions. But as you can see from this percentage, most people here are Roman Catholic. There are some Orthodox citizens and residents too, but they are not as many as you would imagine. And this goes to show just how important religion gets to be for people that live in these areas.

As you can see, Rome is a very interesting city and it has a lot of unique facts for you to uncover. It makes a lot of sense to find a lot of diversity in a huge city like Rome, and we are sure that we are bound to learn more and more about it as we explore this vast city.

This is why it can be a very good idea to book your tickets and explore Rome as you see fit. You can rest assured that it’s super exciting and fun. It may take a little while to got through all the stuff in Rome, but the results can be amazing. And in the end it’s easy to see that Rome is full of wonders and exciting moments for you to explore and enjoy!