Rome . . . the “Eternal City,” the Caput Mundi (the “capital of the world”);
The city of Romulus and Remus, of the Caesars and Nero;
The city that gave its name to one of the most sustained periods of peace the world has ever known, the Pax Romana; the seat of government over the most extensive, unified empire ever;
Rome . . . whose edicts could summon Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem for the nativity of their firstborn, Jesus, and whose appointed governor, Pontius Pilate, would sentence Him to death on a cross thirty-three years later;
Rome . . . the roads,…