The city of seven...names?

Salve, tutti. It was a great weekend here, and I hope you all had a good one, too. Within a few days, I'll fill you all in on some of my recent trips - to Assisi two weeks ago and to Ostia this past weekend - with photos and nerdy explanations. But for now, here's a bit of trivia you can use to impress people.

I've discovered there are many titles for the city in which I now find myself living. Here are seven you may or may not recognize:

Roma: Obviously "Rome" is far too monosyllabic to encapsulate such a magnificent place! Though millions of people here speak English - at least well enough to understand what you mean by "Rome" - the name that has transcended nearly three thousand years is Roma. The same in Latin and Italian, Roma was named after its legendary demigod founder, Romulus, who chose the location for what would be the center of the greatest empire on Earth. There was also a goddess "Roma," the special protector and patroness of the city.

Amor: This is a bit of a stretch, but "Roma" spelled backwards is indeed the Latin word for love. D'awwww.

La Città Eterna (The Eternal City): From its humble beginnings as a cluster of mud huts to the peak of its imperial power to its modern hustle and bustle, Rome has seen millennia of kings, senators, dictators, emperors, popes, and prime ministers. Much of the modern West is owed to the remarkable people who lived here, and it shows no immediate sign of slowing down.

The City of Seven Hills: As mentioned in a previous post, the location for the city of Rome was chosen based on its proximity to the Tiber, which connects inland Italy to the Mediterranean, as well as the presence of seven large hills that were ideal for defense. They are the Palatine, the Capitoline, the Esquiline, the Quirinal, the Viminal, the Aventine, and the Caelian. (On top of the Palatine you can still find the imperial palace.) I live especially close to the Capitoline, in the "Campus Martius" by the Tiber.

The City of Fountains: The spectacular Trevi is not the only fountain in Rome; there are fifty "monumental" fountains and over two thousand others, including masterpieces by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Carlo Maderno.

Caput Mundi: Ancient Romans were - and modern ones also are - incredibly proud of their city, their empire, and their heritage. "Caput Mundi" - head of the world - described how they viewed their literal and figurative location.

Urbs Mirabilis: "City of Wonders." 'Nuff said.

Stay tuned for more this week!

Ciao!