Siege of Rome (549–550)

The Westin Excelsior, Rome, is a luxury hotel on the Via Veneto in Rome, Italy. It opened in 1906.

Rome [ʁɔm] was a department of the First French Empire in present-day Italy. It was named after the city of Rome. It was formed on 17 May 1809, when the Papal States were annexed by France, and was first known as the Département du Tibre (after the Tiber river) before being renamed on 17 February 1810. Following the conquest of the Eternal City, Napoleon gave his son the title of King of Rome. The department was disbanded after the defeat of Napoleon in 1814. At the Congress of Vienna, the Papal States were restored to Pius VII. Its territory corresponds approximately to the modern Italian region of Lazio.

The First Siege of Rome during the Gothic War lasted for a year and nine days, from 2 March 537 to 12 March 538. The city was besieged by the Ostrogothic army under their king Vitiges; the defending East Romans were commanded by Belisarius, one of the most famous and successful Roman generals. The siege was the first major encounter between the forces of the two opponents, and played a decisive role in the subsequent development of the war.

The sack of Rome of 546 took place after a year long siege carried out by the Gothic King Totila during the Gothic War (535–554) between the Ostrogoths (Goths) and the Byzantine Empire. The siege caused severe famine, worsened by corruption among the Byzantine defenders, who hoarded and sold food at inflated prices. Attempts by the general Belisarius to relieve the city failed due to poor coordination and setbacks. On 17 December 546, Gothic forces entered Rome after a group of Isaurian guards betrayed the city and assisted the Goths to breach the walls and opened one of the gates at night. Most of the inhabitants fled, leaving only a small number of civilians who sought refuge in churches. The city was then plundered, though the level of destruction was less extreme than Totila had initially intended. The Goths partially dismantled Rome's walls before withdrawing, aiming to weaken its strategic value for the Byzantines to recapture it. Despite the city's desolate state, Belisarius repaired the fortifications and successfully defended the city. The siege was the first check against Totila's streak of successes during the Gothic resurgence.

Termini is an underground station of the Rome Metro. The station was inaugurated on 10 February 1955 as a station on Line B, and later became an interchange with Line A. The station is found in Piazza dei Cinquecento, under the Termini rail terminal. Together, the two stations form the main public transport hub in the city. Termini is currently the only station in the Rome Metro system to serve both Lines A and B.

The Palazzo Massimo alle Terme is the main of the four sites of the Roman National Museum, along with the original site of the Baths of Diocletian, which currently houses the epigraphic and protohistoric section, Palazzo Altemps, home to the Renaissance collections of ancient sculpture, and the Crypta Balbi, home to the early medieval collection.It is located in the Esquilino district, near Termini Station.

Roma Termini (in Italian, Stazione Termini) (IATA: XRJ) is the main railway station of Rome, Italy. It is named after the district of the same name, which in turn took its name from ancient Baths of Diocletian (in Latin, thermae), which lie across the street from the main entrance.

The National Roman Museum (Italian: Museo Nazionale Romano) is a museum, with several branches in separate buildings throughout the city of Rome, Italy. It shows exhibits from the pre- and early history of Rome, with a focus on archaeological findings from the period of Ancient Rome.

The Monument to John Paul II is a memorial statue dedicated to the Pope John Paul II; it is located on an island (Piazza dei Cinquecento) alongside Viale Enrico di Nicola, in front of the Termini Train station in Rome, Italy. The tall bronze monument was designed by Oliviero Rainaldi, and titled Conversations: Homage to John Paul II The statue was donated to the city by the Fondazione Silvana Paolini Angelucci Onlus, and inaugurated on 18 May 2011. The statue was criticized because the face was felt to only faintly resemble the pope, and the open vestment was compared to a tent or bell. Repairs were performed, and the new statue re-inaugurated in 2012.

The Pontifical Institute for Christian Archaeology (Italian - Pontificio Istituto di Archeologia Cristiana or PIAC) is an institute for the study of Christian archaeology, based in Rome. It offers a postgraduate course in Christian archaeology, which includes topography, the history of Christian archaeology, iconography, hagiography, epigraphy, architecture and other topics. The admission requirement is a completed first degree, whilst the degrees it awards are licentiate and doctorate. It was founded on 11 December 1925 through Pope Pius XI's papal Motu proprio I primitivi cemeteri, in parallel with the Pontifical Academy of Archaeology and the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology. The same pope moved them into their present building in 1927. Its first professors were Johann Peter Kirsch, Joseph Wilpert, Henri Quentin, Angelo Silvagni and Enrico Josi. Since 2022 its Grand Chancellor has been José Tolentino Kardinal Calaça de Mendonça, Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education. It and the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology edit the Rivista di Archeologia Cristiana (Review of Christian Archaeology). The Institute also publishes titles of its own. It has led excavations in Riva Ligure since 2016 and in Adulis (Eritrea) since 2018. The PIAC's professors form the Permanent Standing Committee of the International Congress for Christian Archaeology.

The Basilica of Junius Bassus (basilica Iunii Bassi) was a civil basilica on the Esquiline Hill in Rome, on a site now occupied by the Seminario Pontificio di Studi Orientali, in via Napoleone III, 3. It is best known for its examples of opus sectile work.

The Servian Wall (Latin: Murus Servii Tullii; Italian: Mura Serviane) was an ancient Roman defensive barrier constructed around the city of Rome in the early 4th century BC. The wall was built of volcanic tuff and was up to 10 m (33 ft) in height in places, 3.6 m (12 ft) wide at its base, 11 km (6.8 mi) long, and is believed to have had 16 main gates, of which only one or two have survived, and enclosed a total area of 246 hectares (610 acres). In the 3rd century AD it was superseded by the construction of the larger Aurelian Walls as the city of Rome grew beyond the boundary of the Servian Wall.