Modern Rome
ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE. The Commune of Rome is divided into 19 Districts (Municipi). District 1 holds the original 22 Rioni (neighborhoods, originally 14) within the historic city walls. View map of the districts.
ECONOMY. The economy of Rome is heavily dependent on two main industries - tourism and government. Rome is the 3rd most visited city in Europe with over 30 millions visitors per year. (Messia, 2011). There is an absence of heavy industry - only 10% work in manufacturing, compared to over 50% in government jobs. Government jobs typically have shorter hours, which benefits service industries (bars restaurants, etc.) for being an important piece of the economy for locals as well as tourists. Rome is heavily dependent on industrial north for manufactured goods, and food from central & south Italy. (Boardman, 2001) (Morassut, 2008)
The growth of the service sector has boosted today's Italian economy, especially in banking, insurance, printing, publishing, and fashion. Italy's movie industry (founded in the 1930s) is located at nearby Cinecitta (the Italian "Hollywood"). Other economic areas include fashion, agriculture and other media (radio, TV and telecomm). (Commune di Roma, 2013)
It should also be mentioned that the abundant number of universities provide ongoing economic boosts to the city's economy. Rome boasts more than 10 large universities, including La Sapienza which was founded in 1303 and is the largest in Europe with 150,000 students. In order to decrease the overcrowding of La Sapienza, two new public universities were
founded during the last decades: Tor Vergata in 1982, and Roma Tre in 1992, both in more peripheral areas of the city. (Sapienza, 2013)
Italy is a member of the European Union and changed its currency from Lire to the Euro in 1999.
OPEN SPACE. The Commune of Rome covers an area three times larger than area within the ring road. Along with urban development, this land includes large areas of marsh land which is not usable for agriculture or development, and areas designated as parks, nature reserves, and for agricultural use. Rome's open space constitutes 73% of its land. (Morassut,
2008)
ECONOMY. The economy of Rome is heavily dependent on two main industries - tourism and government. Rome is the 3rd most visited city in Europe with over 30 millions visitors per year. (Messia, 2011). There is an absence of heavy industry - only 10% work in manufacturing, compared to over 50% in government jobs. Government jobs typically have shorter hours, which benefits service industries (bars restaurants, etc.) for being an important piece of the economy for locals as well as tourists. Rome is heavily dependent on industrial north for manufactured goods, and food from central & south Italy. (Boardman, 2001) (Morassut, 2008)
The growth of the service sector has boosted today's Italian economy, especially in banking, insurance, printing, publishing, and fashion. Italy's movie industry (founded in the 1930s) is located at nearby Cinecitta (the Italian "Hollywood"). Other economic areas include fashion, agriculture and other media (radio, TV and telecomm). (Commune di Roma, 2013)
It should also be mentioned that the abundant number of universities provide ongoing economic boosts to the city's economy. Rome boasts more than 10 large universities, including La Sapienza which was founded in 1303 and is the largest in Europe with 150,000 students. In order to decrease the overcrowding of La Sapienza, two new public universities were
founded during the last decades: Tor Vergata in 1982, and Roma Tre in 1992, both in more peripheral areas of the city. (Sapienza, 2013)
Italy is a member of the European Union and changed its currency from Lire to the Euro in 1999.
OPEN SPACE. The Commune of Rome covers an area three times larger than area within the ring road. Along with urban development, this land includes large areas of marsh land which is not usable for agriculture or development, and areas designated as parks, nature reserves, and for agricultural use. Rome's open space constitutes 73% of its land. (Morassut,
2008)
AGRICULTURE. Rome has more agricultural land within city limits than any other European city. Learn more about Agro Romano.
RESIDENTIAL. Most Romans live in apartments, in fact very few single family homes exist within the ring road. (Morassut, 2008) This is very different than the dynamic in the US of equating moving to an urban area with giving up the single family home. For Italians, there is no difference in housing types between urban core and suburban areas.
TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE. Like many cities, Rome has a ring road, and secondary arterial roads in a radial pattern, however, there is no main highway into the city center. Despite the fact that the Roman's have a well-used bus system, regional and international rail, trams and an ever-increasing subway system, traffic in Rome is terrible and one of its most critical issues. This system is designed in a radial pattern which makes using the existing public transport difficult. Lacking adequate ring roads, many have to travel through the center (with narrow irregular roads not designed for cars) to make it to another part of the city. To make things worse, Romans can be considered having four rush hours instead of two because many travel home for lunch each work day. This congestion causes problems not only in time, but in air pollution and damage to historical areas. For this reason, transportation policy in Rome is strongly tied to historic preservation. (Gualdi, 2002)