Rome (/ˈroʊm/; Italian: Roma pronounced [ˈroːma] (
listen); Latin: Rōma) is a city and special comune (“Roma Capitale”) in Italy. Rome is the capital of Italy and also of Lazio (Latin: Latium). With 2.8 million residents in 1,285.3 km2 (496.3 sq mi), it is also the country’s largest and most populated comune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. Between 3.2 and 3.8 million people live in the Rome urban and metropolitan area.[3][4][5][6][7][8] The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy. Rome is referred to as “The Eternal City”, a notion expressed by ancient Roman poets and writers.