20 facts about Rome

1. The city of Rome is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber river within the Lazio region of Italy.
2. Rome has a sovereign state located entirely in its city limits, the Vatican City, which is also the world’s smallest state.
3. The birth of the Eternal City, Rome, which was founded in 753BC, is celebrated every year by Romans on the 21st of April.
4. Cappuccino is named after the Roman order of monks, the Capuchin, who wore a hood or cappucio.
5. The Pantheon which was built in 27 B.C. by Marcus Agrippa is the only monument belonging to ancient Rome that still remains intact.
6. Purple, the most expensive dye from Murex seashells, was reserved for the emperors’ clothes or senators. It became treason for anyone other than the emperor to dress completely in purple.
7. Several religious sources claim that Nero was the Antichrist and will return as the Antichrist. Some scholars claim that the numbers 666 in the biblical Book of Revelation is a code for Nero.
   
8. The Baths of Caracalla although in a bad state now, were once in their prime days spread across 27 acres and could handle 1,600 bathers at any given time. Built in the 3rd century, they are the largest survivors of Rome's imperial era.
9. The abbreviation SPQR can be found on many Roman statues, buildings, and military standards. It stands for “senatus populusque romanus.” meaning “The senate and people of Rome.”
10. Rome has a museum which is entirely dedicated to pasta. 
11. Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality (central area), with over 2.7 million residents in 1,285.3 km2 (496.3 sq mi).
12. The first-ever shopping mall was built by the Emperor Trajan in Rome.
13. Rome’s population of more than a million was not matched by any other European city until London finally over took it in the nineteenth century.
14. Since the 2nd Century AD Rome has been the seat of the Papacy and, after the end of Byzantine domination, in the eighth century it became the capital of the Papal States, which lasted until 1870.
15. St Peter's Basilica inside Vatican City is the largest church ever constructed.
16. The city hosted the 1960 Olympic Games, and is also an official candidate for the 2020 edition of this event.
17. In English, to “decimate” means to completely destroy. The word comes from the Latin decimare, which evolved from the practice of killing every tenth Roman soldier if they tried to mutiny.
18. In 2007 Rome was the 11th-most-visited city in the world, 3rd most visited in the EU, and the most popular tourist attraction in Italy.
19. Rome's Coliseum, a huge amphitheatre which could seat 50,000 people is one among the Seven Wonders of the World. 
20. Monuments and museums such as the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum are amongst the world's 50 most visited tourist destinations (the Vatican Museums receiving 4.2 million tourists and the Colosseum receiving 4 million tourists every year).