Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city with over 2.7 million residents in 1,285.3 km2. The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.

Rome has been an important settlement for over two and a half thousand years. It was the capital city of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, which was the dominant power in Western Europe and the lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea for over seven hundred years from the 1st century BC until the 7th century AD. After the Middle-Ages, Rome was ruled by popes such as Alexander VI and Leo X, who transformed the city into one of the major centers of the Italian Renaissance. The current-day version of St Peter's Basilica was built and the Sistine Chapel was painted by Michelangelo. Famous artists and architects, such as Bramante, Bernini and Raphael have contributed to the city's Renaissance and Baroque architecture.

Rome is one of Europe's and the world's most successful city brands, the 11th-most-visited city in the world and the most popular tourist attraction in Italy (2007). Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Monuments and museums such as the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum rank amongst the world's 50 most visited tourist destinations.