Rome, the capital of Italy, is celebrating its 2779th anniversary today. The founding date of this unique city, which enchants everyone with its beauty, is linked to various legends stretching from the past to the present. According to legend, Ascanius, the son of Aeneas, who was said to be the son of Aphrodite/Venus founded the city of Alba Longa on the banks of the Tiber River, thereby establishing a dynasty; years later, Amulius forcibly seized the throne from his brother Numitor. Amulius forced his niece, Princess Rhea Silvia, the only daughter of Numitor to become a priestess in order to prevent the birth of an heir who could claim the throne. As a result, Silvia joined the Vestal Virgins. The Vestals, priestesses of the goddess Vesta, who was associated with the fire cult, were sacred virgins who were required to take vows of chastity.

During that period, two deities stood out among the ancestors of the Roman people Venus, the goddess of beauty and love, and Mars, the god of war. Among these gods, Mars, the god of war, fell in love with the beautiful priestess Rhea Silvia. After becoming pregnant by Mars, the priestess Silvia gave birth to twin boys named Romulus and Remus. In response, Amulius, who sat on the throne, ordered his soldiers to kill both babies. However, the soldiers, feeling pity for them and unable to bring themselves to do it, placed the twin infants in a basket by the banks of the Tiber River and left them to their fate. A female wolf, hearing the babies cries (according to some sources, based on the fact that the term "female wolf" was used derogatoryly to describe prostitutes at the time, it is speculated that the female wolf who nursed Romulus and Remus was actually their adoptive mother), took the babies to her den on the Palatine Hill and nursed them. The twin cubs, who were later found by a shepherd named Faustolo and adopted along with his wife, Acca Larentina, spent their days in the mountains and, over time, grew strong and healthy. One day, after getting into a fight with other shepherds, Remus was brought before his grandfather Numitor, who served as a judge. After listening to Remus, Numitor realized that he was his own grandson. Then, Numitor summoned Romulus and told the twins the story of Amulius. Once they had come of age, the brothers who had killed their uncle Amulius restored the throne of the Alba Longa dynasty to their grandfather Numitor; they themselves wished to found a city on the right bank of the Tiber River, at the very spot where they had been nursed by the she-wolf, to serve as a colony of Alba Longa. The area where the city was to be built contained seven hills: Aventine, Caelian, Capitoline, Esquiline, Palatine, Quirinal, and Viminal, and the brothers Romulus and Remus could not decide which hill the city should be built on. Thereupon, the twins decided to observe the flight of birds as an omen, leaving the decision in question to the gods. While Romulus saw 12 birds on the Palatine Hill, Remus saw 6 birds on another hill. In response, Romulus drew a sacred boundary around the Palatine Hill and swore to kill anyone who crossed it. When his brother Remus disdainfully jumped over the boundary drawn by Romulus, remaining true to his oath, killed him and became the first king of Rome. According to the general consensus, it is thought that this event took place in 753 BC.

The legend of Rome's founding is also attributed to another myth of Greek origin. Accordingly, Aeneas, the Trojan prince who came to Italy after the fall of Troy and married the daughter of the Latin king, is considered the ancestor of Romulus and Remus. As with the other legend, this one also describes a dispute over which of the seven hills of the ancient world should be the center, culminating in Romulus killing his brother Remus and founding the city of Rome in 753 BC. Nurtured by both Greek and Latin sources, this narrative attributes an unshakeable legitimacy and a profound cultural heritage to Rome, earning it the title of the “Eternal City(Città Eterna)”. Although legends trace the history of the city of Rome back to Aeneas, Prince of Troy, the goddess of love Venus, and the god of war Mars in order to legitimize the origins of the Roman Empire, a view has emerged that argues the historical reality is quite different. Accordingly, Rome emerged as a trade center through the exchange of goods between sailors and local shepherds who met on Tiber Island on the Tiber River. The decision on which hill the city would be built was based on a geographical necessity, rather than a fairytale story like the one between the brothers Romulus and Remus in the legends. To protect themselves from the marshes along the riverbank and the diseases they spread, the shepherds in the region settled on the surrounding hills, such as the Palatine and the Capitoline. In other words, Rome began to take shape not through conquest, but through the shantytowns that sprang up around the marketplaces.

According to Latin, Greek, and historical traditions, Rome believed to have been founded on April 21, 753 BC, rose as an empire when the calendar reached 27 BC. By the year 395 AD, it had been divided into two parts: the Western Roman Empire, which ended in 476, and the Eastern Roman Empire, which lasted until 1453. Rome, particularly during the 15th and 16th centuries, became the heart of the Renaissance and the cultural center of the world, shaped by geniuses like Michelangelo and Raphael. This rich heritage, crowned by architectural masterpieces such as St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel, was subjected to the destructive urban planning interventions of the Fascist era led by Mussolini in the early 1900s. Nevertheless, following World War II, the city rose from its ashes as the capital of the Italian Republic established in 1946 and has continued its modern development ever since. Today, we celebrate the 2779th anniversary of Rome, a city that captivates everyone from seven to seventy with its art, architecture, rich culinary traditions, and the legends surrounding it.

And it would be fitting to conclude this text with a beautiful saying: “Rome will always remain Rome…”

Bibliography

Divulgazione Lingua Italiana, La Vera Storia di Romolo e Remo, https://www.dilit.it/it/doc/i-nostri-consigli/La_vera_storia_di_Romolo_e_Remo.html, 21.04.2026.

La Leggenda di Romolo e Remo, https://www.filodidattica.it/la-leggenda-di-romolo-e-remo/, 21.04.2026.

Leggenda di Romolo e Remo, https://www.scopriroma.com/leggenda-romolo-remo, 21.04.2026.

Roma: L'irresistibile Fascino della Città Eterna, https://www.italia.it/it/lazio/roma/guida-storia-curiosita, 21.04.2026.

"This article is the English translation of Esra Sezer’s piece, 'The Splendor Beyond the Seven Hills: Rome’s 2779-Year Story,' forthcoming in the May issue of Çizme Magazine."