[Rome] (423), since 1871 capital of the modern kingdom of [Italy] (q. v.), on the Tiber, 16 m. from its entrance into the Tyrrhenian Sea; legend ascribes its foundation to Romulus in 753 B.C., and the story of its progress, first as the chief city of a little Italian kingdom, then of a powerful and expanding republic (510 B.C. to 30 B.C.), and finally of a vast empire, together with its decline and fall in the 5th century (476 A.D.), before the advancing barbarian hordes, forms the most impressive chapter in the history of nations; as the mother-city of Christendom in the Middle Ages, and the later capital of the [Papal States] (q. v.) and seat of the Popes, it acquired fresh glory; it remains the most interesting city in the world; is filled with the sublime ruins and monuments of its pagan greatness and the priceless art-treasures of its mediæval period; of ruined buildings the most imposing are the Colosseum (a vast amphitheatre for gladiatorial shows) and the Baths of Caracalla (accommodated 1600 bathers); the great aqueducts of its Pre-Christian period still supply the city with water from the Apennines and the Alban Hills; the Aurelian Wall (12 m.) still surrounds the city, enclosing the "seven hills," the Palatine, Capitoline, Aventine, &c., but suburbs have spread beyond; St. Peter's is yet the finest church in the world; the Popes have their residence in the Vatican; its manufactures are inconsiderable, and consist chiefly of small mosaics, bronze and plaster casts, prints, trinkets, &c.; depends for its prosperity chiefly on the large influx of visitors, and the court expenditure of the Quirinal and Vatican, and of the civil and military officials.
[Romford] (8), an old market-town of Essex, on the Bourne or Rom, 12 m. NE. of London; noted for its cattle and corn markets; industries include brewing, market-gardening, foundries, &c.
[Romilly, Sir Samuel], English lawyer, born in London, of a Huguenot family; was a Whig in politics, and was Solicitor-General for a time; devoted himself to the amendment of the criminal law of the country, and was a zealous advocate against slavery and the spy system (1751-1818).
[Romney, George], English portrait-painter, born in Lancashire; married at Kendal, left his wife and two children there, and painted portraits in London for 35 years in rivalry with Reynolds and Gainsborough, and retired at the end of that time to Kendal to die, his wife nursing him tenderly, though in the whole course of the term referred to, he had visited her only twice (1734-1862).
[Romney, New] (1), one of the old [Cinque Ports] (q. v.), in S. Kent, 8 m. SW. of Hythe; the sea has receded from its shores, leaving it no longer a port; as centre of a fine pastoral district it has an important sheep fair; the little village of Old Romney lies 1½ m. inland.
[Romola], a novel by George Eliot, deemed her greatest by many, being "a deep study of life in the city of Florence from an intellectual, artistic, religious, and social point of view."
[Romsay] (4), a town in Hampshire, on the Test, 8 m. NW. of Southampton; has a remarkably fine old Norman church and a corn exchange; birthplace of Lord Palmerston.
[Romulus], legendary founder of Rome, reputed son of Mars and [Rhea Silvia] (q. v.), daughter of Numitor, king of Alba Longa; exposed at his birth, along with [Remus], his twin-brother (q. v.); was suckled by a she-wolf and brought up by Faustulus, a shepherd; opened an asylum for fugitives on one of the hills of Rome, and founded the city in 753 B.C., peopling it by a rape of Sabine women, and afterwards forming a league with the [Sabines] (q. v.); he was translated to heaven during a thunderstorm, and afterwards worshipped as Quirinus, leaving Rome behind him as his mark.
[Ronaldshay, North and South], two of the Orkney Islands; North Ronaldshay is the most northerly of the Orkney group; South Ronaldshay (2) lies 6¼ m. NE. of Duncansby Head; both have a fertile soil, and the coast fisheries are valuable.
[Roncesvalles], a valley of the Pyrenees, 23 m. NE. of Pampeluna, where in 775 the rear of the army of Charlemagne was cut in pieces by the Basques, and [Roland] (q. v.) with the other Paladins was slain.