Sample Chapter from Italian Pride: 101 Reasons to be Proud You're Italian
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43. Rome (Cont.)
Rome still harnesses its ancient power. This is where Augustus Caesar commanded ships and troops throughout Europe, Africa, and the East, creating the largest empire in the world. This is where Brutus betrayed Julius Caesar and Shakespeare has Marc Antony making his famous "Friends, Romans, Countrymen," speech. This is where the early Christians were thrown to the lions and where the Emperor Constantine finally recognized Christianity in A.D. 313. This is the empire that Spartacus revolted against. This is where Nero fiddled while the city burned. This is where all roads lead. This is where we do as the Romans do. This is it.
On September 20, 1870, Rome became the capital of a united Italy, and the home to Italian government ever since. Italy's governments have been famous for their instability, but the late 1990s saw an unprecedented amount of reform as the government prepared for European economic unification in 2002. Italians take pride in the ancient and modern cities of Rome as a continuing leader of world trends, a tradition as old as the Roman city walls that encircle it.
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