Impacts of Catholic Church on the Contemporary Rome City - Essay Example

? Impacts of Catholic Church on the Contemporary Rome Since the ancient revolution, there are a number of factors that have influenced the development of various cities across the world. Physical features such as mountains, rivers, plains, lakes and seas play the most significant role in determining the location of a town or a city. However, factors such as religion, politics, and economic activities, play significant roles in determining the development and success of cities across the globe. One of the key factors that have influenced the establishment and the development of the Rome City, Italy is religion, particularly the Roman Catholic Church. Other factors such as economic activities, politics, and geographical location have also shaped the city into its current status. The history and development of Rome City can be traced back during the Roman Empire. The influences of the tradition of the Roman Empire are evident in the architecture of the city’s buildings and other structures. Architecture was necessary in the growth and success of Rome. Formal architecture like basilicas and temples, and their related structures such as aqueducts and bridges have played significant roles in shaping Rome into its current status. Although there are several factors that led to the development and success of Rome City, this paper mainly focuses on the influence of the Catholic Church on Rome’s current claims to World City status. Introduction Rome, or particularly Vatican City, is the center of the Roman Catholic religion. It was pronounced a sovereign nation in 1929 as a result of Lateran Accords (Giorgi, 2008 p223). Earlier, before it was designated as a sovereign state, Vatican comprised of smaller Papal States. Vatican City exists as a walled-enclave in Rome, and it is the world’s smallest country. The Lateran Accord of 1929 pronounced Roman Catholicism the official religion of Italy (Davies & Nichols, 2006 p5). It is, therefore, obvious that most of the county’s development and success has been cultural. Roman Catholicism beliefs and architectures are deeply rooted in Rome’s landscape. Being a Roman Catholicism Empire, the Vatican City is ruled by Pope, whose office is the highest in Catholic Church, and serves as the headquarter s of the Roman Catholic Church (Davies & Nichols, 2006 p6). Vatican City is situated on the Vatican Hill surrounded by Rome, which is Italy’s Capital City, and it covers an area of 44 hectares (Nicolet, 1991 p13). The city is surrounded by Renaissance and medieval walls, constructed using the ancient roman architectural designs, which separates it from other cities except St. Peters Square. Within the city, there are a number of magnificent gardens, buildings, complex of courtyards, and a well organized network of roads and walking paths (Nicolet, 1991 p13). History of the Vatican City The first foundation, basilica, in the city was laid down by Emperor Constantine the Great in the 14th Century AD. This foundation is what is believed to be the tomb of St. Peter, who the Catholics claim to be the first Pope. The vast regions of the Vatican Valley and Hill, was anciently used for chariot races and other sports, and as a burial ground (Bonechi Books, 2000 p4). As time passed by, this region became a sacred ground where the Roman Catholic used to perform most of their functions. In the following century, Popes who returned from France established themselves, and took official residence in the Vatican City, and reconstructed the Vatican Palace and the St. Peter basilica to expand its size, beautify its gardens, and add more buildings to accommodate their governmental offices (Lanciani, 2009 p123). In the late 16th Century, the government of the Vatican and Popes officially occupied Quirinal Palace, located in the outcasts of the Vatican City. The government of Italy, in 1870, confiscated Papal States, and the Popes lived in Vatican as self imposed prisoners for over fifty years (Lanciani, 2009 p123). This also made the Popes refuse to acknowledge the new Italian government. In 1929, representatives of Pope Pius XI and Italian Prime Minister, Benito Mussolini signed Lateran Treaty of 1929. The Lateran Treaty demanded that the government of Italy was to recognize the Vatican as a sovereign state under the leadership of Pope and to compensate them for the damages caused over a period of fifty years. On the other hand, the Vatican City was also to recognize the government of Italy and its Capital Rome (Alberigo & Komonchak, 2006 p57). Impacts of Catholic Church on the Success of Rome City Traditions of the Roman Empire, with Roman Catholicism as the main religion, led to the establishment of Vatican and Rome Cities. Ancient buildings and structures constructed using the ancient roman architectural designs such as basilica and temples are still evident in the city. These structures are tourism attraction sites, offering fascinating and magnificent sites for pilgrimages and tourists across the world (Whitfield, 2005 p159). In addition, there are also some other impressive and stunning medieval Christian antiquities preserved in the Vatican City for tourists and visitors who intends to visit the city. Some of the most outstanding structure in the city is St. Peters Basilica, a gigantic monument designed by classical artist such as Michelangelo, Bramante and Gianlorenzo, and erected between 15th and 17th Centuries (Whitfield, 2005 p159). The Basilica has a vast capacity and it can seat up to 60,000 worshippers. It also serves as the worship center for the Roman Catholic Church. St. Peter’s square is also the other remarkable site for tourists and visitors. It is a magnificent piece of ancient roman architecture built like a keyhole shape and surrounded by two semicircular arcades (Lasansky & McLaren, 2004 p17). Adjacent to the Square and Basilica is Papal palace, which is a complex of elegant structure containing Papacy government offices, Chapels and Museums, Papal apartments, Library and over 1,000 guest rooms (Garwood, 2009 p449). The Papal Palace is decorated by beautiful paintings done by adored artist such as Luca Signorelli, the great Raphael, Domenico Ghirlando, Sandro Botticelli, Micheangelo, and Punturicchio (Garwood, 2009 p449). The Library contains millions of bounded classical writings, manuscripts, and other books. Museums include Vatican Pinacoteca, the Gregorian Museum of Etruscan Art, the Pio Clemetino Museum, the Gregorian Museum of Egypt Art, and the Chiaramonti Museum (Garwood, 2009 p449). Rome’s Economy The Vatican City derives most of its revenue from contributions from Roman Catholic Churches located across the globe. Additionally, other than other economic and business activities, tourism is one of the industrial sectors, which boost Rome’s economy. Revenue is obtained from the sales of souvenirs to visitors and tourists, stamps, and fee collected for admission into Museums (Lasansky & McLaren, 2004 p17). Local business people selling the souvenirs also earn their daily living from the interest on investments, revenue from publications sold all over the world of goodwill and influence of Catholicism on the Christians, and profits from their merchant banks (Giorgi, 2008 p225). The contributions made by Catholics all over the world, and revenue earned from the sales of the souvenirs, books, and other catholic related artifacts influenced by Catholicism on Christians, is channeled to other government departments such as roads, building and construction. With Pope as the leader of the Catholic Church and the leader of the Vatican City, with absolute executive, legislative, and judicial powers, he is capable of distributing all the revenue to all government departments, so as to achieve equity in development, and raise living standard for all (Giorgi, 2008 p225). For example, revenue earned from taxes and tourism packages are channeled to build new roads and renovate the existing ones, build new schools and other learning institutions, create more employment opportunities, and take care of the elderly and prisoners. As a requirement, a world class city should be equipped with modern facilities, and business activities, which the Rome City has currently acquired, and this is attributed to the impacts of Catholicism. The Roman Catholicism traditions and ancient architectural designs such as temples and basilica have significantly offered fascinating tourism attraction sites. Both the Rome and Vatican Cities have their own economic structure and systems, however, Rome significantly benefits from the Vatican’s tourism (Whitfield, 2005 p161). Vatican City is a small city, which receives several tourists more than it can accommodate annually. This has given its neighboring cities, particularly Rome, to offer its visitors and tourist accommodation facilities. Most of Rome’s accommodation facilities are privately owned, and from this business activity, the local government also benefits through taxes. Apart from the accommodation facilities, Catholic pilgrimages also visit Rome’s local tourist attraction sites, and buy souvenirs sold in its local markets (Bonechi Books, 2000 p4). This has earned the city part of revenue to carry out its expansion and development programs. The Roman Catholic Church also has some negative impacts on the development and success of the modern Rome City. Unlike other cities like London, which are visited by several tourists from different cultural and religious backgrounds, Rome is mainly visited by Catholics (Davies & Nichols, 2006 p7). This is because most people believe that it only offers tourism facilities, which are mainly influenced by the Roman Catholicism culture and tradition. Tourists from other religious background such as Islam and Hindu will prefer visiting other cities, which offer a wide array of tourism facilities. Overconcentration in one area of tourism facility, which is facilities, influenced by Catholicism tradition, limits Catholics claims that its traditions have shaped Rome City into its current status. Conclusion Since the ancient times, religion has played a significant role in determining the success of modern cities. Rome city borders Vatican City, which is the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church. The Lateran Treaty of 1929 declared Roman Catholicism as Italy’s official religion. This means that the development and success of Rome city is highly influenced by Roman Catholicism culture. Catholicism culture has influenced the planning and architecture of most buildings in this city. Its unique architectural designs such as temples and basilica have offered fascinating tourism sites, which have attracted pilgrimages and tourists all over the world. Magnificent structures such as St. Peters Basilica and St. Peters Squire are also some of the city’s most outstanding tourism sites. From the tourism facilities, Rome’s local residents earn revenue through the sale of souvenirs, and profits from other investments so as to raise their living standards, while the local government earns revenue from taxes imposed on tourism facilities to improve infrastructures and build modern ones in the city. However, overconcentration in Catholicism influenced tourism facilities has limited the Catholic Church’s claims that it has shaped the Rome City into its current status. 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