Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality (central area) with over 2.7 million residents. Rome has several touristic sights, monuments, museums and an attractive atmosphere which makes it one of the top cities cities in terms of branding. The city of Rome is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber river within the Lazio region of Italy.  Rome's history spans over two and a half thousand years. It was the capital city of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, which was a major political and cultural influence in the lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea for over four hundred years from the 1st Century B.C. until the 4th Century A.D. Since the 2nd Century AD Rome has been the seat of the Papacy and, after the end of Byzantine domination, in the eighth century it became the capital of the Papal States, which lasted until 1870. In 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic. Since 1929 it is also the site of the Vatican City, an independent city-state presided over by the Pope. Rome is divided into differing types of non-administrative divisions: Monti, Trevi, Colonna, Campo Marzio, Ponte, Parione, Regola, Sant'Eustachio, Pigna, Campitelli, Sant'Angelo, Ripa, Trastevere, Borgo, Esquilino, Ludovisi, Sallustiano, Castro Pretorio, Celio, Testaccio, San Saba and Prati. Tourism is one of Rome's main industries, with numerous notable museums including the Vatican Museum, the Borghese Gallery, and the Musei Capitolini. Every year Rome register about 20 million visitors. The World Heritage site comprise the historic centre of Rome with other Rome main sights as San Paolo Fuori le Mura Church, the walls of Urban VIII, the Forums, Colosseum, the Mausoleum of Augustus, the Mausoleum of Hadrian, the Pantheon, Trajan’s Column and the Column of Marcus Aurelius, as well as the religious and public buildings of papal Rome. Rome contains huge vastities of culture, treasures, art and sculpture, stored in some of Rome's numerous museums. The Vatican Museums are amongst the most famous and important in the world, with over 4.2 million visitors a year, making them the world's 37th most visited tourist destination. Other major museums in Rome include the Accademia di San Luca, Capitoline Museums, Lateran Museum, Galleria Borghese, Galleria Colonna, Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Museum of Rome and Palazzo Altemps, to name a few.
Due to its location in the centre of the Italian peninsula, Rome is a principal railway node for central Italy. Rome's main train station, Termini, is one of the biggest train stations in Europe and the most heavily used in Italy. The second-largest station in the city is Roma Tiburtina. Rome is served by three airports. The intercontinental Leonardo Da Vinci International Airport is Italy's chief airport and is commonly known as "Fiumicino Airport", as it is located within the nearby Comune of Fiumicino, south-west of Rome. The older Rome Ciampino Airport is a joint civilian and military airport. It is commonly referred to as "Ciampino Airport", as it is located beside Ciampino, south-east of Rome. A third airport, the Roma-Urbe Airport, is a small, low-traffic airport located about 6 km north of the city centre, which handles most helicopter and private flights. The Rome Patron Saints are Saint Peter and Saint Paul.