1.
Papal States
–
The Papal States, officially the State of the Church, were territories in the Italian Peninsula under the sovereign direct rule of the pope, from the 8th century until 1870. They were among the states of Italy from roughly the 8th century until the Italian Peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. At their zenith, they covered most of the modern Italian regions of Lazio, Marche, Umbria and Romagna and these holdings were considered to be a manifestation of the temporal power of the pope, as opposed to his ecclesiastical primacy. By 1861, much of the Papal States territory had been conquered by the Kingdom of Italy, only Lazio, including Rome, remained under the Popes temporal control. In 1870, the pope lost Lazio and Rome and had no physical territory at all, Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini ended the crisis between unified Italy and the Vatican by signing the Lateran Treaty, granting the Vatican City State sovereignty. The Papal States were also known as the Papal State, the territories were also referred to variously as the State of the Church, the Pontifical States, the Ecclesiastical States, or the Roman States. For its first 300 years the Catholic Church was persecuted and unrecognized and this system began to change during the reign of the emperor Constantine I, who made Christianity legal within the Roman Empire, and restoring to it any properties that had been confiscated. The Lateran Palace was the first significant new donation to the Church, other donations followed, primarily in mainland Italy but also in the provinces of the Roman Empire. But the Church held all of these lands as a private landowner, the seeds of the Papal States as a sovereign political entity were planted in the 6th century. Beginning In 535, the Byzantine Empire, under emperor Justinian I, launched a reconquest of Italy that took decades and devastated Italys political, just as these wars wound down, the Lombards entered the peninsula from the north and conquered much of the countryside. While the popes remained Byzantine subjects, in practice the Duchy of Rome, nevertheless, the pope and the exarch still worked together to control the rising power of the Lombards in Italy. As Byzantine power weakened, though, the took a ever larger role in defending Rome from the Lombards. In practice, the papal efforts served to focus Lombard aggrandizement on the exarch, a climactic moment in the founding of the Papal States was the agreement over boundaries embodied in the Lombard king Liutprands Donation of Sutri to Pope Gregory II. When the Exarchate of Ravenna finally fell to the Lombards in 751, the popes renewed earlier attempts to secure the support of the Franks. In 751, Pope Zachary had Pepin the Younger crowned king in place of the powerless Merovingian figurehead king Childeric III, zacharys successor, Pope Stephen II, later granted Pepin the title Patrician of the Romans. Pepin led a Frankish army into Italy in 754 and 756, Pepin defeated the Lombards – taking control of northern Italy – and made a gift of the properties formerly constituting the Exarchate of Ravenna to the pope. The cooperation between the papacy and the Carolingian dynasty climaxed in 800, when Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Emperor, the precise nature of the relationship between the popes and emperors – and between the Papal States and the Empire – is disputed. Events in the 9th century postponed the conflict, the Holy Roman Empire in its Frankish form collapsed as it was subdivided among Charlemagnes grandchildren
2.
Pope
–
The pope is the Bishop of Rome and, therefore, the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church. The current pope is Francis, who was elected on 13 March 2013, the office of the pope is the papacy. The pope is considered one of the worlds most powerful people because of his diplomatic and he is also head of state of Vatican City, a sovereign city-state entirely enclaved within the Italian capital city of Rome. The papacy is one of the most enduring institutions in the world and has had a prominent part in world history, the popes in ancient times helped in the spread of Christianity and the resolution of various doctrinal disputes. In the Middle Ages, they played a role of importance in Western Europe. Currently, in addition to the expansion of the Christian faith and doctrine, the popes are involved in ecumenism and interfaith dialogue, charitable work, Popes, who originally had no temporal powers, in some periods of history accrued wide powers similar to those of temporal rulers. In recent centuries, popes were gradually forced to give up temporal power, the word pope derives from Greek πάππας meaning father. The earliest record of the use of title was in regard to the by then deceased Patriarch of Alexandria. Some historians have argued that the notion that Peter was the first bishop of Rome, the writings of the Church Father Irenaeus who wrote around AD180 reflect a belief that Peter founded and organised the Church at Rome. Moreover, Irenaeus was not the first to write of Peters presence in the early Roman Church, Clement of Rome wrote in a letter to the Corinthians, c. 96, about the persecution of Christians in Rome as the struggles in our time and presented to the Corinthians its heroes, first, the greatest and most just columns, the good apostles Peter and Paul. St. Ignatius of Antioch wrote shortly after Clement and in his letter from the city of Smyrna to the Romans he said he would not command them as Peter and Paul did. Given this and other evidence, many agree that Peter was martyred in Rome under Nero. Protestants contend that the New Testament offers no proof that Jesus established the papacy nor even that he established Peter as the first bishop of Rome, others, using Peters own words, argue that Christ intended himself as the foundation of the church and not Peter. First-century Christian communities would have had a group of presbyter-bishops functioning as leaders of their local churches, gradually, episcopacies were established in metropolitan areas. Antioch may have developed such a structure before Rome, some writers claim that the emergence of a single bishop in Rome probably did not occur until the middle of the 2nd century. In their view, Linus, Cletus and Clement were possibly prominent presbyter-bishops, documents of the 1st century and early 2nd century indicate that the Holy See had some kind of pre-eminence and prominence in the Church as a whole, though the detail of what this meant is unclear. It seems that at first the terms episcopos and presbyter were used interchangeably, the consensus among scholars has been that, at the turn of the 1st and 2nd centuries, local congregations were led by bishops and presbyters whose offices were overlapping or indistinguishable
3.
Liber Pontificalis
–
The Liber Pontificalis is a book of biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the Liber Pontificalis stopped with Pope Adrian II or Pope Stephen V, although quoted virtually uncritically from the 8th to 18th century, the Liber Pontificalis has undergone intense modern scholarly scrutiny. The title Liber Pontificalis goes back to the 12th century, although it only became current in the 15th century, in the earliest extant manuscripts it is referred to as Liber episcopalis in quo continentur acta beatorum pontificum Urbis Romae and later the Gesta or Chronica pontificum. The attribution originated with Rabanus Maurus and is repeated by Martin of Opava, other sources attribute the early work to Hegesippus and Irenaeus, having been continued by Eusebius of Caesarea. Most scholars believe the Liber Pontificalis was first compiled in the 5th or 6th century, because of the use of the vestiarium, the records of the papal treasury, some have hypothesized that the author of the early Liber Pontificalis was a clerk of the papal treasury. The Liber Pontificalis originally only contained the names of the bishops of Rome, from Stephen V through the 10th and 11th centuries, the historical notes are extremely abbreviated, usually with only the popes origin and reign duration. It was only in the 12th century that the Liber Pontificalis was systematically continued, Duchesne refers to the 12th century work by Petrus Guillermi in 1142 at the monastery of St. Gilles as the Liber Pontificalis of Petrus Guillermi. Boso drew on Bonizo of Sutri for popes from John XII to Gregory VII, an independent continuation appeared in the reign of Pope Eugene IV, appending biographies from Pope Urban V to Pope Martin V, encompassing the period of the Western Schism. A later recension of this continuation was expanded under Pope Eugene IV, the two collections of papal biographies of the 15th century remain independent, although they may have been intended to be continuations of the Liber Pontificalis. The first extends from popes Benedict XII to Martin V, or in one manuscript to Eugene IV, the second extends from Pope Urban VI to Pope Pius II. The Liber Pontificalis was first edited by J. Busæus under the title Anastasii bibliothecarii Vitæ seu Gesta, a new edition, including the Historia ecclesiastica of Anastasius, was edited by Fabrotti. Another edition, editing the older Liber Pontificalis up to Pope Adrian II, muratori reprinted Bianchinis edition, adding the remaining popes through John XXII. Migne also republished Bianchinis edition, adding several appendixes, modern editions include those of Louis Duchesne and Theodor Mommsen. Duchesne incorporates the Annales Romani into his edition of the Liber Pontificalis, mommsens edition is incomplete, extending only until 715. Translations and further commentaries appeared throughout the 20th century, list of popes Raymond Davis, The Book of Pontiffs. Liverpool, University of Liverpool Press,1989, Raymond Davis, The Book of Pontiffs. Liverpool, University of Liverpool Press,2000, ISBN 0-85323-545-7 Stops with Pope Constantine, 708-715. Contains an extensive and up to date bibliography, Raymond Davis, The Lives of the Eighth Century Popes Liverpool, Raymond Davis, The Lives of the Ninth Century Popes Liverpool, University of Liverpool Press,1989
4.
Louis Duchesne
–
Louis Marie Olivier Duchesne was a French priest, philologist, teacher and a critical historian of Christianity and Roman Catholic liturgy and institutions. Louis brother, Jean-Baptiste Duchesne, settled in Oregon City, Oregon in 1849, Louis Duchesne was ordained to the priesthood in 1867. He taught for years in Saint-Brieuc, then went to study in Paris. From 1873 to 1876, he was a student at the École française in Rome. He was an amateur archaeologist and organized expeditions from Rome to Mount Athos, to Syria, in 1877, he obtained the chair of ecclesiastical history of the Catholic Institute, but left the theological faculty in 1883. He then taught at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes, where he influenced Alfred Firmin Loisy, a founder of the movement of Modernism, in 1895, he was appointed director of the École française. In 1887, he published the results of his thesis, followed by the first complete edition of the Liber Pontificalis. He also wrote Les Sources du martyrologe hyéronimien, Origines du culte chrétien, Fastes épiscopaux de lancienne Gaule and these works were universally praised, and he was appointed a commander of the Legion of Honor. However, his Histoire ancienne de lÉglise, 1906‑11 was considered too modernist by the Church during the Modernist crisis and was placed on the Index of Forbidden Books in 1912. In 1888, he became a member of the Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres, abbe Duchesne was made an apostolic prothonotary in 1900. He died in 1922, in Rome, and is buried in the cemetery of Saint-Servan, london, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Next printing 1919 and 1931 also in New York, Macmillan Company, K. Paul, Trench, Trübner & co. ltd. Fastes épiscopaux de lancienne Gaule, I, second edition Early history of the Christian church from its foundation to the end of the third century. Fastes épiscopaux de lancienne Gaule, II, Fastes épiscopaux de lancienne Gaule, III. Second edition Scripta minora, études de topographie romaine et de géographie ecclésiastique, - commemorating the 50th anniversary of the death of Louis Duchesne. The Politics of Modernism, Alfred Loisy and the Scientific Study of Religion, washington DC, Catholic University of America Press. Harvey Hill, Louis-Pierre Sardella, C. J. T. Talar, by Those Who Knew Them, French Modernists Left, Right, and Center. Washington DC, Catholic University of America Press, joassart, B. editor Monseigneur Duchesne et les Bollandistes, Correspondance 2002
5.
Tusculum
–
Tusculum is a ruined Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was one of the largest Roman cities in the Alban Hills, the Tusculum is located on Tuscolo hill on the northern edge of the outer crater rim of the Alban volcano. The volcano itself is located in the Alban Hills 6 kilometres south of the town of Frascati. Tuscolo Hills summit is 670 metres above sea level and affords a view of the Roman Campagna, Rome was reached by the Via Latina, or by the Via Labicana to the north. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city. Strabo wrote about Tusculum in Geography, V3 §12, but still closer to Rome than the mountainous country where these cities lie, there is another ridge, which leaves a valley between them and is high as far as Mount Albanus. The geographer Filippo Cluverio discounts these legends, asserting that the city was founded by Latins about three hundred years before the Trojan War, funerary urns datable to the 8th–7th centuries B. C. demonstrate a human presence in the late phases of Latin culture in this area. Tusculum is first mentioned in history as an independent city-state with a king, a constitution and gods of its own. When Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the last King of Rome, was expelled from the city in 509 B. C. he sought help from his son-in-law Octavius Mamilius. After the war between Clusium and Rome failed to win back the throne for Tarquinius, he sought refuge with Mamilius in Tusculum, the Mamilii claimed to be descended from Telegonus, the founder of the city. Mamilius commanded the army of the Latins against the Romans at the Battle of Lake Regillus and this is the point at which Rome gained predominance among the Latin cities. According to some accounts Tusculum subsequently became an ally of Rome, in 460 B. C. the Sabines occupied the Capitol. Of the Latin cities, only Tusculum quickly sent troops, commanded by the dictator Lucius Mamilius, together with the forces of the consul Publius Valerius Poplicola they were able to quash the revolt. Poplicola was thankful to the Tusculans for their help, and conferred on Lucius Mamilius the honour of Roman citizenship, in 459 B. C. the Aequi attacked Tusculum and captured its citadel. In 381 BC, after an expression of submission to Rome. Tusculum became the first municipium cum suffragio, or self-governing city, the Tusculum citizens were therefore recorded in the Tribus Papiria. Other accounts, however, speak of Tusculum as often allied with Romes enemies, several of the chief Roman families were of Tusculan origin, e. g. In 54 BC, in his Orationes Pro Cn, varro wrote about the laws of Tusculum in De Lingua Latina, Volume 5, New wine shall not be taken into the town before the Vinalia are proclaimed
6.
Pallium
–
In that context, it has remained connected to the Papacy. It is decorated with six crosses, one on each tail and four on the loop, is doubled on the left shoulder. The two latter characteristics seem to survive from the time when the Roman pallium was a simple scarf doubled and pinned on the left shoulder, in origin, the pallium and the omophor are the same vestment. The omophor is a band of cloth, much larger than the modern pallium, worn by all Eastern Orthodox. A theory connects its origin with the figure of the Good Shepherd carrying the lamb on his shoulders, so common in early Christian art, the ceremonial connected with the preparation of the pallium and its bestowal upon the pope at his coronation, however, suggests some such symbolism. The lambs whose wool is destined for the making of the pallia are solemnly presented at the altar by the nuns of the convent of Saint Agnes, the Benedictine nuns of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere later weave the lambs wool into pallia. At present, only the pope, metropolitan archbishops, and the Latin Rite Patriarch of Jerusalem wear the pallium, no other bishops, even non-metropolitan archbishops or retired metropolitans, are allowed to wear the pallium unless they have special permission. When a pope or metropolitan dies, he is buried wearing the last pallium he was granted, and it is unknown exactly when the pallium was first introduced. Cæsarius of Arles in 513, and in other references of the sixth century. It seems that earlier, the pope alone had the right of wearing the pallium. We hear of the pallium being conferred on others, as a mark of distinction, the honour was usually conferred on metropolitans, especially those nominated vicars by the pope, but it was sometimes conferred on simple bishops. The oath of allegiance which the recipient of the pallium takes today apparently originated in the century, during the reign of Paschal II. It is certain that a tribute was paid for the reception of the pallium as early as the sixth century and this was abrogated by Pope Gregory I in the Roman Synod of 595, but was reintroduced later as partial maintenance of the Holy See. This process was condemned by the Council of Basel in 1432, the fee was later abandoned amid charges of simony. There are many different opinions concerning the origin of the pallium, some trace it to an investiture by Constantine I, others consider it an imitation of the Hebrew ephod, the humeral garment of the High Priest. Others declare that its origin is traceable to a mantle of St. Peter, there is no solid evidence tracing the pallium to an investiture of the emperor, the ephod of the Jewish High Priest, or a fabled mantle of St. Peter. It may well be that it was introduced as a badge of the pope, or that it was adopted in imitation of its counterpart. It was bestowed on papal vicars and other bishops with exclusive links to the Apostolic See, also in this rank were missionaries sent with papal approval to organise the church among newly converted peoples
7.
Papal renunciation
–
A papal renunciation occurs when the reigning pope of the Roman Catholic Church voluntarily steps down from his position. As the reign of the pope has conventionally been from election until death, before the 21st century, only five popes unambiguously resigned with historical certainty, all between the 10th and 15th centuries. Additionally, disputed claims of four popes having resigned date between the 3rd and 11th centuries, a disputed case may have involved an antipope. Additionally, a few popes during the saeculum obscurum were deposed, the later development of canon law has been in favor of papal supremacy, leaving no recourse to remove a pope involuntarily. The most recent pope to resign was Benedict XVI, who vacated the Holy See on 28 February 2013 at 19,00 UTC and he was the first pope to do so since Gregory XII in 1415. Despite its common usage in discussion of papal renunciations, the abdication is not used in the official documents of the Church for renunciation by a pope. Both the 1983 Code and the 1917 Code make explicit that there is no individual or body of people to whom the pope must manifest his renunciation. During the saeculum obscurum several popes were deposed or coerced into renunciation by political, John X is considered to have been deposed by some, but he seems to have died in prison before his successor Leo VI was elected anyway. As another example, consider the story of John XII, Leo VIII, John XII had been invalidly deposed by the Emperor Otto in 963, never renouncing his claim. Leo VIII was set up as an antipope by Otto at this time, however, John XII won back his rightful place in 964. When John XII died in 964, Benedict V was elected, however, Otto wanted Leo VIII put back on the papal throne and, using military might, forced Benedict to abdicate later that same summer, Benedicts renunciation is considered valid. Leo VIII is then considered the pope until his death in 965. The first historically unquestionable papal renunciation is that of Benedict IX in 1045. Then, in 1045, having regained the papacy for a few months, in order to rid the Church of the scandalous Benedict, Gregory himself resigned in 1046 because the arrangement he had entered into with Benedict could have been considered simony. Gregory was followed by Clement II, and when Clement died, Benedict IX returned to be elected to the papacy for a third time and he thus reigned as pope for three non-consecutive terms, and resigned three separate times. A well-known renunciation of a pope is that of Celestine V, after only five months of pontificate, he issued a solemn decree declaring it permissible for a pope to resign, and then did so himself. He lived two years as a hermit and then prisoner of his successor Boniface VIII and was later canonised. Celestines decree, and Boniface concurring, ended any doubt among canonists about the possibility of a valid papal renunciation, before resigning, he formally convened the already existing Council of Constance and authorized it to elect his successor
8.
Papal selection before 1059
–
There was no fixed process for papal selection before 1059. Popes, the bishops of Rome and the leaders of the Catholic Church, were appointed by their predecessors or secular rulers. The practice of papal appointment during this period would give rise to the jus exclusivae. Furthermore, the frequent requirement of approval of elected popes significantly lengthened periods of sede vacante. There is no consensus on when and on what terms Saint Peter arrived in Rome. Moreover, Peter was never referred to as a pope or even a bishop. This anecdote makes clear that the choice of bishop was the concern for the entire Christian community of Rome. Fabian can reliably be regarded as a victim of the persecution of Emperor Decius, the next available evidence comes from the schism between Novatian and Cornelius, both elected bishop by their own factions, and both writing to Cyprian, bishop of Carthage for support. Mark was the first to designate the bishop of Ostia as the first among the consecrators of the new bishop of Rome, even with this new title, however, the method of selection of the bishop of Rome remained much the same. Both the clergy and the laity continued to participate in the selection, other trends can be observed, as well, such as father-to-son succession between Pope Anastasius I and Pope Innocent I. Emperor Honorius stepped in to resolve the schism between Eulalius and Pope Boniface I, siding with Eulalius first and then Boniface I. The Roman Senate disliked the lack of election and denounced Felix, affirming a decree of Pope Anastasius II, Boniface II was supported only by a minority of the clergy, with the larger share supporting Dioscorus, with only Dioscoruss death halting the schism. In fact, Athalaric himself was able to engineer the election of Pope Silverius, upon his invasion of Italy, Justinian I forced Silverius to abdicate and in his place installed Pope Vigilius, a former papal legate to Constantinople. Justinian next appointed Pope Pelagius I, holding only an election to replace Vigilius. Afterwards, Justinian was content with power of approval of the pope, justinians successors continued this practice for over a century. The continuing power of appointment of the Byzantine emperor can be seen in the legend of Pope Gregory I writing to Constantinople and this abated factionalism for the next four successions, each resulting in quick elections and imperial approval. However, Pope Severinus was forced to wait 20 months for approval in 640. So Pope Martin I refused to wait, insisting on being consecrated only days after his election and this resulted in his abduction by Constans II to Constantinople in 653, where he was tried and sentenced to exile
9.
Bishops of Rome under Constantine I
–
Constantine Is relationship with the four Bishops of Rome during his reign is an important component of the history of the Papacy, and more generally the history of the Catholic Church. None of this, however, has much to do with the popes, who did not even attend the Council, in fact. The Donation of Constantine, an 8th-century forgery used to enhance the prestige, the legend of the Donation claims that Constantine offered his crown to Sylvester I, and even that Sylvester baptized Constantine. In reality, Constantine was baptized by Eusebius of Nicomedia, who, Sylvester was succeeded by Mark and Julius I during the life of Constantine. Although the Donation never occurred, Constantine did hand over the Lateran Palace to the bishop of Rome, the gift of the Lateran probably occurred during the reign of Miltiades, Sylvester Is predecessor, who began using it as his residence. Old St. Peters was begun between 326 and 330 and would have three decades to complete, long after the death of Constantine. In spite of the Diocletian Persecution, Christians constituted approximately one-tenth of the population of the Roman Empire at the time of Constantines rise to power. Christianity was legalized by Galerius, who was the first emperor to issue an edict of toleration for all religious creeds including Christianity in April 311. It was without any single dominant ruling officer, its elders or leaders sharing responsibility, by the eve of the conversion of Constantine, there were more than two dozen of these religious community-centers or tituli. The Roman church was a community, and its bishop exercised little influence outside its members in the time of Constantine. Constantine was the first Roman Emperor to embrace Christianity, although he continued in his pre-Christian beliefs. He and co-Emperor Licinius bestowed imperial favor on Christianity through the Edict of Milan promulgated in 313, after the Edict of Milan, the church adopted the same governmental structure as the Empire, geographical provinces ruled by bishops. These bishops of important cities therefore rose in power over the bishops of lesser cities, Miltiades was pope at the time of Constantines victory, and Constantine gifted to Miltiades the Lateran Palace, where he relocated, holding a synod in 313. Turning to Constantine was a move because he had not yet been baptized. Constantine therefore referred the matter to Miltiades, requiring him to collaborate with three bishops from Gaul, eamon Duffy calls this the first direct intervention by an emperor in the affairs of the church. Miltiades died, and his successor, Silvester I, did not travel to Arles, the Arles synod gave Silvester I somewhat of a nod by asking him to circulate their decisions to the other bishops, although he had no part in the process. During Silvester Is reign, construction began on the Lateran Basilica, Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, Silvester did not attend the first ecumenical council, the First Council of Nicaea, but sent two priests as his representatives, the Western bishops of Carthage and Milan were also in attendance. Ariuss followers did poorly at Nicaea, and the Nicene Creed that was adopted was squarely against their Christological position, the Arians were silenced, not persuaded by the Council, and the controversy in the larger Christian community was not resolved
10.
Rome
–
Rome is a special comune and the capital of Italy. Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region, with 2,873,598 residents in 1,285 km2, it is also the countrys largest and most populated comune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the center of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4.3 million residents, the city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio, along the shores of the Tiber. Romes history spans more than 2,500 years, while Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at only around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Europe. The citys early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans and it was first called The Eternal City by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy. Rome is also called the Caput Mundi, due to that, Rome became first one of the major centres of the Italian Renaissance, and then the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism. Famous artists, painters, sculptors and architects made Rome the centre of their activity, in 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic. Rome has the status of a global city, Rome ranked in 2014 as the 14th-most-visited city in the world, 3rd most visited in the European Union, and the most popular tourist attraction in Italy. Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, monuments and museums such as the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum are among the worlds most visited tourist destinations with both locations receiving millions of tourists a year. Rome hosted the 1960 Summer Olympics and is the seat of United Nations Food, however, it is a possibility that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself. As early as the 4th century, there have been alternate theories proposed on the origin of the name Roma. There is archaeological evidence of occupation of the Rome area from approximately 14,000 years ago. Evidence of stone tools, pottery and stone weapons attest to about 10,000 years of human presence, several excavations support the view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman Forum. Between the end of the age and the beginning of the Iron age. However, none of them had yet an urban quality, nowadays, there is a wide consensus that the city was gradually born through the aggregation of several villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine. All these happenings, which according to the excavations took place more or less around the mid of the 8th century BC. Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome has been indeed founded with an act of will as the legend suggests in the middle of the 8th century BC remains a fringe hypothesis. Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Pope John XI". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton.
