is a

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

phrase which literally means "Head of the world" whereas ''Roma Caput Mundi'' means "Rome capital of the world" and is one of the many nicknames given to the city of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

throughout its history. The phrase is related to the enduring power of the city first as the capital of the

Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

and the

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

, and later as the centre of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Although it is not known for sure when it was first used, Rome was already named in this way by the poet Ovid in

1st century BC The 1st century Before Christ, BC, also known as the last century BC and the last century Common Era , BCE, started on the first day of 100 BC, 100 BC and ended on the last day of 1 BC, 1 BC. The Anno Domini, AD/BC notation does not ...

. Along with "Eternal City" and the "City of Seven Hills", Caput Mundi remains as one of the most commonly used names to refer to the city of Rome.

Meaning

''Roma Caput Mundi'' is a

phrase taken to mean "Rome capital of the world" and "Roma capitale del mondo" in Italian (literally: "head of the world"). It originates out of a classical European understanding of the known world:

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

, and Southwest Asia. The influence of Rome in the ancient world began to grow around the 2nd century BC as the Republic expanded across Southern Europe and North Africa. For the next five centuries, Rome governed much of the known world (of traditional

Greco-Roman geography The History of geography includes many history, histories of geography which have differed over time and between different cultural and political groups. In more recent developments, geography has become a distinct academic discipline. 'Geography ...

) and served as the world's largest city during that period. The cultural influence of the local language of Rome (

) as well as Roman art,

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

, law, religion, and philosophy was significant. The Imperial city of Rome adopted as its nickname ''Caput Mundi'', attributing this to its perception of an enduring power of

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

and the Catholic Church. The Italian patriot and democratic thinker Giuseppe Mazzini spoke of three ages of Rome: First Rome referring to the "Rome of the Emperors", Second Rome referring to the "Rome of the Popes", and the Third Rome referring to the " Rome of the people".

References

{{reflist History of Rome Latin political words and phrases World government

Meaning

See also

References