Free Essays on Rome

We find them in the big cities of the world and in the most remote jungles; they cross the deserts of Africa and cruise to see the penguins along the polar ice caps; they climb the Himalaya Mountains and dive deep into the coral seas of tropical oceans. Tourists are everywhere these days - easily recognizable by their cameras and recorders, their leisure-time outfits, and their unquenchable desire to get away from home and experience life with in a whole new way. Tourism has become the biggest industry in the world. It offers jobs for 200 million people and contributes 11.7 per cent to global Gross National Product. Almost 700 million tourist arrivals are expected for this year in Rome, and this number is estimated to grow to 1.5 billion by the year 2020. (www.travelaroundrome.com) BREIF HISTORY OF ROME Rome, the capital of Italy, covers an area of 1,290 Km ² and is located in the region of Lazio, on the west coast of the North-South centre of the country. The metropolitan area of Rome, instituted by law 142/90 covers 5,352 km ² and 3,981,000 inhabitants www.progress-project.com). Rome's main activities, as country capital, are in the administrative, political and service sectors. Also the tourist sector, including transport, hotels and others, is an important asset of the City entrances: these economic activities are generally concentrated in the geometric centre of Rome, especially in the historic part. Situated on the River Tiber, between the Apennine Mountains and the Tyrrhenian Sea, the 'Eternal City' of Rome (Roma) was once the administrative centre of the mighty Roman Empire, governing a vast region that stretched from Britain to Mesopotamia. Today, it remains the seat of the Italian government and home to numerous ministerial offices, but is superseded by Milan, in the industrial north, for business and finance. The legendary beginnings of Rome are related in the tale of Romulus and Remus. Princess Rhea Silvia, ravished ... Free Essays on Rome Free Essays on Rome We find them in the big cities of the world and in the most remote jungles; they cross the deserts of Africa and cruise to see the penguins along the polar ice caps; they climb the Himalaya Mountains and dive deep into the coral seas of tropical oceans. Tourists are everywhere these days - easily recognizable by their cameras and recorders, their leisure-time outfits, and their unquenchable desire to get away from home and experience life with in a whole new way. Tourism has become the biggest industry in the world. It offers jobs for 200 million people and contributes 11.7 per cent to global Gross National Product. Almost 700 million tourist arrivals are expected for this year in Rome, and this number is estimated to grow to 1.5 billion by the year 2020. (www.travelaroundrome.com) BREIF HISTORY OF ROME Rome, the capital of Italy, covers an area of 1,290 Km ² and is located in the region of Lazio, on the west coast of the North-South centre of the country. The metropolitan area of Rome, instituted by law 142/90 covers 5,352 km ² and 3,981,000 inhabitants www.progress-project.com). Rome's main activities, as country capital, are in the administrative, political and service sectors. Also the tourist sector, including transport, hotels and others, is an important asset of the City entrances: these economic activities are generally concentrated in the geometric centre of Rome, especially in the historic part. Situated on the River Tiber, between the Apennine Mountains and the Tyrrhenian Sea, the 'Eternal City' of Rome (Roma) was once the administrative centre of the mighty Roman Empire, governing a vast region that stretched from Britain to Mesopotamia. Today, it remains the seat of the Italian government and home to numerous ministerial offices, but is superseded by Milan, in the industrial north, for business and finance. The legendary beginnings of Rome are related in the tale of Romulus and Remus. Princess Rhea Silvia, ravished ... Free Essays on Rome Multiple scholars have contended that the primary reason for Rome's decline and eventual fall was the receding of the great Empire's economic might, and the social repercussions that accompanied it On the surface, this may seem quite simple, but in actuality, this phenomenon affected nearly every aspect of Roman life, from the decline of the population to the lack of maintenance of infrastructure. One of the primary catalysts to the deterioration of the economy was the lack of circulating currency in the Western Empire. Two reasons for the lack of funds are wholesale hoarding of bullion by Roman citizens, and the widespread looting of the Roman treasury by the "barbarians". These two factors, coupled with the massive trade deficit with Eastern Regions of the Empire served to stifle the growth of wealth in the west. This would have far reaching ramifications that permiate the very fabric of Roman society, as we shall soon discuss. Ellsworth Huntington has proposed a unique hypothesis relating the changing rainfall patterns and climate in the Mediterranean with the economic problems encountered by the western empire. He basically writes that, as the climate became more unstable, it began to alternate annually between hot droughts and cold rainy seasons. This, for obvious reasons, would decrease crop yields, and would force the Romans to undergo widespread irrigation projects on land which had formerly been self-sufficient. The huge quantities of water needed for this project had to be contained in large reservoirs, and the standing water became stagnant. Stagnant water is the ideal environment for breeding mosquitos, the carriers of malaria. Malaria began manifesting itself at epidemic levels, weakening and killing a large percentage of the population. The fluctuation in temperature and climate also had more direct effects on the populus. Huntington believed that humans operate most effectively when their environment is at a stable ...