Misplaced Pages

Crop Trust

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

The Crop Trust , officially known as the Global Crop Diversity Trust , is an international nonprofit organization with a secretariat in Bonn, Germany . Its mission is to conserve and make available the world's crop diversity for food security .

#922077

139-610: Established in 2004, the Crop Trust is the only organization whose sole mission is to safeguard the world’s crop diversity for future food security. Through an endowment fund for crop diversity, the Crop Trust provides financial support for key international and national genebanks that hold collections of diversity for food crops available under the International Treaty for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) . The organization also provides tools and support for

278-456: A civil war against the Senate and Pompey. After his victory, Caesar established himself as dictator for life . His assassination in 44 BC led to a second Triumvirate among Octavian (Caesar's grandnephew and heir), Mark Antony and Lepidus , and to a final civil war between Octavian and Antony. In 27 BC, Octavian was named Augustus and princeps , founding the principate ,

417-510: A diarchy between the princeps and the senate. Over time, the new monarch came to be known as the imperator (hence emperor ), meaning "commander". During the reign of Nero , two thirds of the city was ruined after the Great Fire of Rome , and the persecution of Christians commenced. Rome's empire reached its greatest expansion in the second century under the Emperor Trajan . Rome

556-463: A senatore or patrizio . In the 12th century, this administration, like other European cities, evolved into the commune , a new form of social organisation controlled by the new wealthy classes. Pope Lucius II fought against the Roman commune, and the struggle was continued by his successor Pope Eugenius III : by this stage, the commune, allied with the aristocracy, was supported by Arnaldo da Brescia ,

695-464: A series of civil wars between rival claimants to power resulted in the unification of the empire under Constantine the Great in 324. Hereditary succession was restored, but the east–west division was maintained. Constantine undertook a major reform of the bureaucracy, not by changing the structure but by rationalising the competencies of the several ministries. The so-called Edict of Milan of 313, actually

834-511: A 30% annualized loss that was more than predicted in December 2008. At Stanford University , the endowment was reduced from $ 17 billion to $ 12 billion as of September 2009. Brown University 's endowment fell 27 percent to $ 2.04 billion in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2009. George Washington University lost 18% in that same fiscal year, down to $ 1.08 billion. In Canada, after the financial crisis in 2008, University of Toronto reported

973-448: A building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitable purposes with no intention of reclaiming the assets. The donated assets may be held by a charitable trust . Ibn Umar reported, Umar Ibn Al-Khattab got land in Khaybar , so he came to the prophet Muhammad and asked him to advise him about it. The Prophet said, 'If you like, make the property inalienable and give

1112-565: A conference organized by the FAO, 150 countries launched a Global Plan of Action to coordinate efforts at halting the loss of the world’s agrobiodiversity. The Global Plan of Action formed a major pillar of what would become the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, known as the Plant Treaty. The Plant Treaty brings the diversity of 64 food and forage crops into

1251-562: A crusade against the Colonna family and, in 1300, called for the first Jubilee of Christianity , which brought millions of pilgrims to Rome. However, his hopes were crushed by the French king Philip the Fair , who took him prisoner and held him hostage for three days at Anagni . The Pope was able to return to Rome, but died a month later, it was said of shock and grief. Afterwards, a new pope faithful to

1390-625: A financial return." Impact investments provide capital to address social and environmental issues. Generally, endowment taxes are the taxation of financial endowments that are otherwise not taxed due to their charitable, educational, or religious mission. Endowment taxes are sometimes enacted in response to criticisms that endowments are not operating as nonprofit organizations or that they have served as tax shelters , or that they are depriving local governments of essential property and other taxes . Rome Rome ( Italian and Latin : Roma , pronounced [ˈroːma] )

1529-419: A fragment of a letter from his co-emperor Licinius to the governors of the eastern provinces, granted freedom of worship to everyone, including Christians, and ordered the restoration of confiscated church properties upon petition to the newly created vicars of dioceses. He funded the building of several churches and allowed clergy to act as arbitrators in civil suits (a measure that did not outlast him but which

SECTION 10

#1732851992923

1668-420: A fringe hypothesis. Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth . The most familiar of these myths, and perhaps the most famous of all Roman myths , is the story of Romulus and Remus , the twins who were suckled by a she-wolf . They decided to build a city, but after an argument, Romulus killed his brother and

1807-511: A large area in Rome, and the city has one of the largest areas of green space among European capitals. The most notable part of this green space is represented by the large number of villas and landscaped gardens created by the Italian aristocracy. While most of the parks surrounding the villas were destroyed during the building boom of the late 19th century, some of them remain. The most notable of these are

1946-419: A loss of 31% ($ 545 million) of its previous year-end value in 2009. The loss is attributed to over-investment in hedge funds. Critics like Justice Funders' Dana Kawaoka-Chen call for "redistributing all aspects of well-being, democratizing power, and shifting economic control to communities.". Endowment repatriation refers to campaigns that acknowledge the history of human and natural resource exploitation that

2085-616: A man dies, only three deeds will survive him: continuing alms, profitable knowledge and a child praying for him. The two oldest known waqfiya (deed) documents are from the 9th century, while a third one dates from the early 10th century, all three within the Abbasid Period. The oldest dated waqfiya goes back to 876 CE, concerns a multi-volume Qur'an edition and is held by the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum in Istanbul . A possibly older waqfiya

2224-583: A mandatory part of a fellowship. A foundation (also a charitable foundation) is a category of nonprofit organization or charitable trust that will typically provide funding and support for other charitable organizations through grants, but may engage directly in charitable activities. Foundations include public charitable foundations, such as community foundations , and private foundations which are typically endowed by an individual or family. The term foundation though may also be used by organizations not involved in public grant-making. A financial endowment

2363-619: A monk who was a religious and social reformer. After the pope's death, Arnaldo was taken prisoner by Adrianus IV , which marked the end of the commune's autonomy. Under Pope Innocent III , whose reign marked the apogee of the papacy, the commune liquidated the senate, and replaced it with a Senatore , who was subject to the pope. In this period, the papacy played a role of secular importance in Western Europe , often acting as arbitrators between Christian monarchs and exercising additional political powers. In 1266, Charles of Anjou , who

2502-501: A multilateral system where the genetic material is protected and accessible to all who needed it. To protect the collections that housed that genetic material, however, a stable system of funding was needed. To partly address this need, the Crop Trust was established in October 2004. Its mission was to help build a global system of ex situ crop diversity conservation, funded through an endowment for crop diversity. The Plant Treaty recognizes

2641-468: A number of restricted endowments that are intended to fund specific areas within the institution. The most common examples are endowed professorships (also known as named chairs), and endowed scholarships or fellowships. The practice of endowing professorships began in the modern European university system in England on September 8, 1502, when Lady Margaret Beaufort , Countess of Richmond and grandmother to

2780-668: A partnership between the Crop Trust, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of Norway, and the Nordic Genetic Resource Center (NordGen). In 2011, the Crop Trust launched the Crop Wild Relatives Project , a 10-year project to collect and conserve crop wild relatives , a project funded by the Government of Norway. In 2012, the Crop Trust appointed Marie Haga as the new Crop Trust Executive Director. A new target for

2919-611: A population of 4,355,725 residents, is the most populous metropolitan city in Italy. Its metropolitan area is the third-most populous within Italy. Rome is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula , within Lazio ( Latium ), along the shores of the Tiber Valley . Vatican City (the smallest country in the world and headquarters of the worldwide Catholic Church under

SECTION 20

#1732851992923

3058-451: A portion of the initial endowment after self-initiated research into the foundation's financial support of Native and Indigenous artists and communities. This results of this research indicated "the inadequacy of philanthropic support for Native arts and artists", related feedback from an unnamed Native leader that "[o]nce [big foundations] put the stuff in place for an Indian program, then it is not usually funded very well. It lasts as long as

3197-452: A prince or monarch and their role in training government officials made early Mediterranean universities similar to Islamic madrasas , although madrasas were generally smaller, and individual teachers, rather than the madrasa itself, granted the license or degree. Waqf ( Arabic : وَقْف ; [ˈwɑqf] ), also known as 'hubous' (حُبوس) or mortmain property, is a similar concept from Islamic law , which typically involves donating

3336-471: A private prison that was directly contrary to the foundation's mission, they developed and then began to advocate for a four-part ethical framework to endowment investments conceptualized as Human Capital, Natural Capital, Civic Capital, and Financial Capital. Another example is the Ford Foundation 's co-founding of the independent Native Arts and Culture Foundation in 2007. The Ford Foundation provided

3475-434: A trust exclusively for the support of a pet. Ignoring the restriction is called " invading " the endowment. But change of circumstance or financial duress like bankruptcy can preclude carrying out the donor's intent. A court can alter the use of restricted endowment under a doctrine called cy-près meaning to find an alternative "as near as possible" to the donor's intent. The earliest endowed chairs were established by

3614-539: A warrior pope, to Alexander VI , immoral and nepotist , from Julius II , soldier and patron, to Leo X , who gave his name to this period ("the century of Leo X"), all devoted their energy to the greatness and the beauty of the Eternal City and to the patronage of the arts. During those years, the centre of the Italian Renaissance moved to Rome from Florence. Majestic works, as the new Saint Peter's Basilica ,

3753-648: Is a papyrus held by the Louvre Museum in Paris , with no written date but considered to be from the mid-9th century. The earliest known waqf in Egypt, founded by financial official Abū Bakr Muḥammad bin Ali al-Madhara'i in 919 (during the Abbasid period ), is a pond called Birkat Ḥabash together with its surrounding orchards, whose revenue was to be used to operate a hydraulic complex and feed

3892-458: Is a wide consensus that the city developed gradually through the aggregation (" synoecism ") of several villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine. This aggregation was facilitated by the increase of agricultural productivity above the subsistence level , which also allowed the establishment of secondary and tertiary activities . These, in turn, boosted the development of trade with

4031-405: Is above 21 °C (70 °F) during the day and 9 °C (48 °F) at night. In the coldest month, January, the average temperature is 12.6 °C (54.7 °F) during the day and 2.1 °C (35.8 °F) at night. In the warmest month, August, the average temperature is 31.7 °C (89.1 °F) during the day and 17.3 °C (63.1 °F) at night. December, January and February are

4170-566: Is also a notable pine wood at Castelfusano , near Ostia. Rome also has a number of regional parks of much more recent origin, including the Pineto Regional Park and the Appian Way Regional Park. There are also nature reserves at Marcigliana and at Tenuta di Castelporziano. Rome has a Mediterranean climate ( Köppen climate classification : Csa ), with hot, dry summers and mild, humid winters. Its average annual temperature

4309-605: Is another large green space: it has few trees but is overlooked by the Palatine and the Rose Garden ('roseto comunale'). Nearby is the lush Villa Celimontana , close to the gardens surrounding the Baths of Caracalla. The Villa Borghese garden is the best known large green space in Rome, with famous art galleries among its shaded walks. Overlooking Piazza del Popolo and the Spanish Steps are the gardens of Pincio and Villa Medici . There

Crop Trust - Misplaced Pages Continue

4448-548: Is based on the amount of pork, 3,629,000 lbs. distributed to poorer Romans during five winter months at the rate of five Roman lbs per person per month, enough for 145,000 persons or 1/4 or 1/3 of the total population. Grain distribution to 80,000 ticket holders at the same time suggests 400,000 (Augustus set the number at 200,000 or one-fifth of the population). After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in AD ;476, Rome

4587-564: Is common for endowed funds to be established as a trust independent of the organizations and the causes the endowment is meant to serve. Institutions that commonly manage endowments include academic institutions (e.g., colleges , universities , and private schools ); cultural institutions (e.g., museums, libraries, and theaters); service organizations (e.g., hospitals, retirement homes; the Red Cross ); and religious organizations (e.g., churches, synagogues, mosques). Private endowments are some of

4726-555: Is generally thought the population of the city until AD 300 was 1 million (estimates range from 2 million to 750,000) declining to 750–800,000 in AD 400, then 450–500,000 in AD 450 and down to 80–100,000 in AD 500 (though it may have been twice this). The Bishop of Rome, called the Pope , was important since the early days of Christianity because of the martyrdom of both the apostles Peter and Paul there. The Bishops of Rome were also seen (and still are seen by Catholics) as

4865-465: Is inherent to many large private funds. Repatriation campaigns ask for private endowments to be returned to the control of the people and communities that have been most affected by labor and environmental exploitation and often offer ethical frameworks for discussing endowment governance and repatriation. Many might say that, by definition, philanthropy is about redistributing resources. Yet to truly embody this principle, philanthropy must move far beyond

5004-568: Is now known as medicine and basic sciences. Today, the University of Glasgow has fifteen Regius Professorships. Private individuals also adopted the practice of endowing professorships. Isaac Newton held the Lucasian Chair of Mathematics at Cambridge beginning in 1669, more recently held by the celebrated physicist Stephen Hawking . In the United States, the endowment is often integral to

5143-441: Is possible that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself. As early as the 4th century, there have been alternative theories proposed on the origin of the name Roma . Several hypotheses have been advanced focusing on its linguistic roots which however remain uncertain: Rome has also been called in ancient times simply "Urbs" (central city), from urbs roma , or identified with its ancient Roman initialism of SPQR ,

5282-624: Is the capital city of Italy . It is also the capital of the Lazio region , the centre of the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital , and a special comune (municipality) named Comune di Roma Capitale . With 2,860,009 residents in 1,285 km (496.1 sq mi), Rome is the country's most populated comune and the third most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. The Metropolitan City of Rome, with

5421-466: Is the raw material plant breeders and farmers use to adapt crop varieties to pests and diseases . In the future, this crop diversity will play a central role in helping agriculture adjust to climate change and adapt to water and energy constraints. In 1996, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recognized the need for global coordination for the conservation of the world’s crop diversity. At

5560-403: Is typically overseen by a board of trustees and managed by a trustee or team of professional managers. Typically, the financial operation of the endowment is designed to achieve the stated objectives of the endowment. In the United States, typically 4–6% of the endowment's assets are spent every year to fund operations or capital spending. Any excess earnings are typically reinvested to augment

5699-632: The Age of Enlightenment , new ideas reached the Eternal City, where the papacy supported archaeological studies and improved the people's welfare. But not everything went well for the Church during the Counter-Reformation. There were setbacks in the attempts to assert the Church's power, a notable example being in 1773 when Pope Clement XIV was forced by secular powers to have the Jesuit order suppressed . The rule of

Crop Trust - Misplaced Pages Continue

5838-772: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation , and the Grains Research and Development Corporation (Australia). A number of developing countries have also provided support, including Egypt, Ethiopia and India. Further contributions have been received from private corporations, foundations, industry associations, and from private individuals. 2004-2005 – Geoffrey Hawtin (Interim) 2005-2012 – Cary Fowler 2013-2019 – Marie Haga 2020–present – Stefan Schmitz 2007–2012 – Margaret Catley-Carlson 2013–2017 – Walter Fust 2018–2019 – Amb. Timothy Fischer 2019–2021 – Sir Peter Crane 2022–present – Catherine Bertini Since its establishment,

5977-520: The Dominate , derived from his title of dominus ("lord"). His most marked feature was the unprecedented intervention of the State down to the city level: whereas the State had submitted a tax demand to a city and allowed it to allocate the charges, from his reign the State did this down to the village level. In a vain attempt to control inflation, he imposed price controls which did not last. Diocletian divided

6116-1163: The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the UN System Network on Rural Development and Food Security . The city also hosts the European Union (EU) Delegation to the United Nations (UN) and the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) as well as the headquarters of several Italian multinational companies, such as Eni , Enel , TIM , Leonardo , and banks such as BNL . Numerous companies are based within Rome's EUR business district, such as

6255-654: The Gauls , Osci - Samnites and the Greek colony of Taranto , allied with Pyrrhus , king of Epirus ) whose result was the conquest of the Italian peninsula , from the central area up to Magna Graecia . The 3rd and 4th century BC saw the establishment of Roman hegemony over the Mediterranean and the Balkans through the three Punic Wars (264–146 BC) fought against Carthage and

6394-644: The Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius in Athens in AD 176. Aurelius created one endowed chair for each of the major schools of philosophy : Platonism , Aristotelianism , Stoicism , and Epicureanism . Later, similar endowments were set up in some other major cities of the Empire. The earliest universities were founded in Europe, Asia and Africa. Their endowment by

6533-503: The Roman Empire , and is regarded by many as the first-ever Imperial city and metropolis . It was first called The Eternal City ( Latin : Urbs Aeterna ; Italian : La Città Eterna ) by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid , Virgil , and Livy . Rome is also called Caput Mundi (Capital of the World). After the fall of

6672-586: The San Lorenzo district was subject to Allied bombing raids , resulting in about 3,000 fatalities and 11,000 injuries, of whom another 1,500 died. Mussolini was arrested on 25 July 1943 . On the date of the Italian Armistice 8 September 1943 the city was occupied by the Germans. Allied bombing raids continued throughout 1943 and extended into 1944. Rome was liberated on 4 June 1944. Rome developed greatly after

6811-638: The Sistine Chapel and Ponte Sisto (the first bridge to be built across the Tiber since antiquity, although on Roman foundations) were created. To accomplish that, the Popes engaged the best artists of the time, including Michelangelo , Perugino , Raphael , Ghirlandaio , Luca Signorelli , Botticelli , and Cosimo Rosselli . The period was also infamous for papal corruption, with many Popes fathering children, and engaging in nepotism and simony . The corruption of

6950-571: The Villa Borghese , Villa Ada , and Villa Doria Pamphili . Villa Doria Pamphili is west of the Gianicolo hill, comprising some 1.8 km (0.7  sq mi ). The Villa Sciarra is on the hill, with playgrounds for children and shaded walking areas. In the nearby area of Trastevere, the Orto Botanico (Botanical Garden) is a cool and shady green space. The old Roman hippodrome (Circus Maximus)

7089-519: The founding of Rome at around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it a major human settlement for over three millennia and one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in Europe. The city's early population originated from a mix of Latins , Etruscans , and Sabines . Eventually, the city successively became the capital of the Roman Kingdom , the Roman Republic and

SECTION 50

#1732851992923

7228-594: The western and eastern empires respectively. The seat of government in the Western Roman Empire was transferred to Ravenna in 408, but from 450 the emperors mostly resided in Rome. Rome, which had lost its central role in the administration of the empire, was sacked in 410 by the Visigoths led by Alaric I , but very little physical damage was done, most of which was repaired. What could not be so easily replaced were portable items such as artwork in precious metals and items for domestic use (loot). The popes embellished

7367-546: The "live hand" of the public as opposed to the "dead hand" of the founders of private foundations. Research published in the American Economic Review indicates that major academic endowments often act in times of economic downturn in a way opposite of the intention of the endowment. This behavior is referred to as endowment hoarding, reflecting the way that economic downturns often lead to endowments decreasing their payouts rather than increasing them to compensate for

7506-564: The 5% payout requirements for grants and distribute ALL of its power and resources. This includes spending down one's endowment, investing in local and regional economic initiatives that build community wealth rather than investing in Wall Street, giving up decision-making power for grants, and, ultimately, turning over assets to community control. After the Heron Foundation's internal audit of its investments in 2011 uncovered an investment in

7645-423: The Balkans made serious uncoordinated incursions that were more like giant raiding parties rather than attempts to settle. The Persian Empire invaded from the east several times during the 230s to 260s but were eventually defeated. The civil wars ended in 285 with the final victory of Diocletian , who undertook the restoration of the State. He ended the Principate and introduced a new authoritarian model known as

7784-568: The Church. Under the popes from Pius IV to Sixtus V , Rome became the centre of a reformed Catholicism and saw the building of new monuments which celebrated the papacy. The popes and cardinals of the 17th and early 18th centuries continued the movement by having the city's landscape enriched with baroque buildings. This was another nepotistic age; the new aristocratic families ( Barberini , Pamphili , Chigi , Rospigliosi , Altieri , Odescalchi ) were protected by their respective popes, who built huge baroque buildings for their relatives. During

7923-443: The Crop Trust began a global initiative to rescue threatened, high-priority collections of crop diversity in developing countries and to support information systems to improve their conservation and availability. These efforts included providing support to developing countries and international agricultural research centers to deposit shipments of seed samples in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault for safety duplication purposes. In 2010,

8062-411: The Crop Trust endowment fund was set at USD850 million to finance a global system for the conservation of crop diversity, centered around key international, regional and national collections, as well as the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. In 2013, the Crop Trust opened its new headquarters in Bonn, Germany, through a hosting agreement with the Government of Germany. Shortly thereafter, the Crop Trust launched

8201-443: The Crop Trust has funded work in over 80 countries, and made its first grant for long-term conservation of a collection in late 2006. By 2011, the Crop Trust had established in-perpetuity support (i.e. grants funded through the Crop Trust's endowment) for collections of 15 crops: rice , cassava , wheat , barley , faba bean , pearl millet , maize , forages , banana , aroids , grass pea , sorghum , yam and lentil . In 2007,

8340-513: The Crop Trust launched a global 10-year program to find, gather, catalog and save the wild relatives of 22 major food crops. These wild species contain untapped diversity to help address future challenges to agriculture. The Crop Trust joined the Government of Norway and the Nordic Gene Bank in the 2008 establishment of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a " fail-safe " facility located at Svalbard , Norway. The Seed Vault provides long-term storage of duplicates of seeds conserved in genebanks around

8479-405: The Empire in the west , which marked the beginning of the Middle Ages , Rome slowly fell under the political control of the Papacy , and in the 8th century, it became the capital of the Papal States , which lasted until 1870. Beginning with the Renaissance , almost all popes since Nicholas V (1447–1455) pursued a coherent architectural and urban programme over four hundred years, aimed at making

SECTION 60

#1732851992923

8618-412: The French was elected, and the papacy was briefly relocated to Avignon (1309–1377). During this period Rome was neglected, until a plebeian man, Cola di Rienzo , came to power. An idealist and a lover of ancient Rome, Cola dreamed about a rebirth of the Roman Empire: after assuming power with the title of Tribuno , his reforms were rejected by the populace. Forced to flee, Cola returned as part of

8757-463: The Gothic siege of 537, the population dropped to 30,000 but had risen to 90,000 by the papacy of Gregory the Great . The population decline coincided with the general collapse of urban life in the West in the fifth and sixth centuries, with few exceptions. Subsidized state grain distributions to the poorer members of society continued right through the sixth century and probably prevented the population from falling further. The figure of 450,000–500,000

8896-470: The Great (which by then was in a dilapidated state) was demolished and a new one begun. The city hosted artists like Ghirlandaio , Perugino , Botticelli and Bramante , who built the temple of San Pietro in Montorio and planned a great project to renovate the Vatican . Raphael, who in Rome became one of the most famous painters of Italy, created frescoes in the Villa Farnesina , the Raphael's Rooms , plus many other famous paintings. Michelangelo started

9035-399: The Greek colonies of southern Italy (mainly Ischia and Cumae ). These developments, which according to archaeological evidence took place during the mid-eighth century BC, can be considered as the "birth" of the city. Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome was founded deliberately in the middle of the eighth century BC, as the legend of Romulus suggests, remains

9174-459: The IRRI genebank, pledging to fully fund essential operations in perpetuity. The Crop Trust celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2019 and crossed the USD 300 million threshold in the endowment fund. In 2020, Stefan Schmitz was appointed Executive Director. With support from the German government, the Crop Trust launched the Seeds4Resilience Project project in 2020. The project will upgrade five national genebanks in sub-Saharan Africa. In February 2020,

9313-416: The Italian Republic. In 2019, Rome was the 14th most visited city in the world, with 8.6 million tourists, the third most visited city in the European Union, and the most popular tourist destination in Italy. Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site . The host city for the 1960 Summer Olympics , Rome is also the seat of several specialised agencies of the United Nations , such as

9452-428: The Kings was built on seven hills: the Aventine Hill , the Caelian Hill , the Capitoline Hill , the Esquiline Hill , the Palatine Hill , the Quirinal Hill , and the Viminal Hill . Modern Rome is also crossed by another river, the Aniene , which flows into the Tiber north of the historic centre. Although the city centre is about 24 km (15 mi) inland from the Tyrrhenian Sea , the city territory extends to

9591-413: The Papal States were reconstituted by a decision of the Congress of Vienna of 1814. In 1849, a second Roman Republic was proclaimed during a year of revolutions in 1848 . Two of the most influential figures of the Italian unification , Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi , fought for the short-lived republic. Rome then became the focus of hopes of Italian reunification after the rest of Italy

9730-443: The Plant Treaty. In 2007, the Crop Trust signed its first long-term grant agreement with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Los Baños, Philippines. In 2005, Cary Fowler was appointed the first permanent Crop Trust Executive Director. Under Fowler’s leadership, the Crop Trust initiated the Global System Project and joined the three-party management agreement for the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which opened in 2008 as

9869-435: The Popes and the huge expenses for their building projects led, in part, to the Reformation and, in turn, the Counter-Reformation . Under extravagant and rich popes, Rome was transformed into a centre of art, poetry, music, literature, education and culture. Rome became able to compete with other major European cities of the time in terms of wealth, grandeur, the arts, learning and architecture. The Renaissance period changed

10008-560: The Popes was interrupted by the short-lived Roman Republic (1798–1800), which was established under the influence of the French Revolution . The Papal States were restored in June 1800, but during Napoleon 's reign Rome was annexed as a Département of the French Empire : first as Département du Tibre (1808–1810) and then as Département Rome (1810–1814). After the fall of Napoleon,

10147-496: The Romans expelled the last king from their city and established an oligarchic republic led by two annually-elected consuls . Rome then began a period characterised by internal struggles between patricians (aristocrats) and plebeians (small landowners), and by constant warfare against the populations of central Italy: Etruscans, Latins, Volsci , Aequi , and Marsi . After becoming master of Latium , Rome led several wars (against

10286-577: The Svalbard Global Seed Vault reached one million accessions of seed samples for more than 6,000 species. The Crop Trust is headquartered in Bonn, Germany, after relocating there from Rome , Italy . The executive board is chaired by Catherine Bertini. The Crop Trust's Donors' Council is chaired by Dr. Taek-Ryoun Kwon of South Korea. Main donors include: Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States,

10425-569: The Third Century , during which numerous generals fought for power and the central authority in Rome weakened dramatically. Around the same time, the Plague of Cyprian ( c. 250–270) afflicted the Mediterranean. Instability caused economic deterioration, and there was a rapid rise in inflation as the government debased the currency in order to meet expenses. The Germanic tribes along the Rhine and north of

10564-548: The United States are governed by the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act which is based in part on the concept of donor intent that helps define what restrictions are imposed on the principal and earnings of the fund. Endowments in the United States are commonly categorized in one of three ways: All endowments ensure that the original principal, inflation-adjusted, is held in perpetuity and prudent spending methods should be applied in order to avoid

10703-431: The United States. An endowed professorship (or endowed chair ) is a position permanently paid for with the revenue from an endowment fund specifically set up for that purpose. To set up an endowed chair generally costs between US$ 1 and $ 5 million at major research universities. Typically, the position is designated to be in a certain department. The donor might be allowed to name the position. Endowed professorships aid

10842-468: The academic world, and the university can use them to reward its best faculty or to recruit top professors from other institutions. An endowed faculty fellow is a position permanently paid for to recruit and retain new and/or junior (and above) professors who have already demonstrated superior teaching and research. The donor might be allowed to name the faculty fellowship. A faculty fellow appointment cultivates confidence and institutional loyalty, keeping

10981-403: The birth of the conclave . In this period the city was also shattered by continuous fights between the aristocratic families: Annibaldi , Caetani , Colonna , Orsini , Conti , nested in their fortresses built above ancient Roman edifices, fought each other to control the papacy. Pope Boniface VIII , born Caetani, was the last pope to fight for the church's universal domain ; he proclaimed

11120-510: The city centre in order to build wide avenues and squares which were supposed to celebrate the fascist regime and the resurgence and glorification of classical Rome. The interwar period saw a rapid growth in the city's population which surpassed one million inhabitants soon after 1930. During World War II, due to the art treasuries and the presence of the Vatican, Rome largely escaped the tragic destiny of other European cities. However, on 19 July 1943,

11259-583: The city the artistic and cultural centre of the world. In this way, Rome first became one of the major centres of the Renaissance and then became the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism . Famous artists, painters, sculptors, and architects made Rome the centre of their activity, creating masterpieces throughout the city. In 1871, Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy , which, in 1946, became

11398-557: The city took his name. According to the Roman annalists , this happened on 21 April 753 BC. This legend had to be reconciled with a dual tradition, set earlier in time, that had the Trojan refugee Aeneas escape to Italy and found the line of Romans through his son Iulus , the namesake of the Julio-Claudian dynasty . This was accomplished by the Roman poet Virgil in the first century BC. In addition, Strabo mentions an older story, that

11537-605: The city was affected by the divisions which rocked the Church. In 1418, the Council of Constance settled the Western Schism , and a Roman pope, Martin V , was elected. This brought to Rome a century of internal peace, which marked the beginning of the Renaissance . The ruling popes until the first half of the 16th century, from Nicholas V , founder of the Vatican Library , to Pius II , humanist and literate, from Sixtus IV ,

11676-554: The city was an Arcadian colony founded by Evander . Strabo also writes that Lucius Coelius Antipater believed that Rome was founded by Greeks. After the foundation by Romulus according to a legend, Rome was ruled for a period of 244 years by a monarchical system , initially with sovereigns of Latin and Sabine origin, later by Etruscan kings. The tradition handed down seven kings: Romulus , Numa Pompilius , Tullus Hostilius , Ancus Marcius , Tarquinius Priscus , Servius Tullius and Lucius Tarquinius Superbus . In 509 BC,

11815-466: The city with large basilicas, such as Santa Maria Maggiore (with the collaboration of the emperors). The population of the city had fallen from 800,000 to 450–500,000 by the time the city was sacked in 455 by Genseric , king of the Vandals . The weak emperors of the fifth century could not stop the decay, leading to the deposition of Romulus Augustus , who resided on Ravenna, on 4 September 476. This marked

11954-455: The coldest months, with a daily mean temperature of approximately 8 °C (46 °F). Temperatures during these months generally vary between 10 and 15 °C (50 and 59 °F) during the day and between 3 and 5 °C (37 and 41 °F) at night, with colder or warmer spells occurring frequently. Snowfall is rare but not unheard of, with light snow or flurries occurring on some winters, generally without accumulation, and major snowfalls on

12093-569: The decoration of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and executed the famous statue of the Moses for the tomb of Julius II. Its economy was rich, with the presence of several Tuscan bankers, including Agostino Chigi , who was a friend of Raphael and a patron of arts. Before his early death, Raphael also promoted for the first time the preservation of the ancient ruins. The War of the League of Cognac caused

12232-532: The downturn. Large U.S.-based college and university endowments, which had posted large, highly publicized gains in the 1990s and 2000s, faced significant losses of principal in the 2008 economic downturn . The Harvard University endowment , which held $ 37 billion in June 2008, was reduced to $ 26 billion by mid-2009. Yale University , the pioneer of an approach that involved investing heavily in alternative investments such as real estate and private equity , reported an endowment of $ 16 billion as of September 2009,

12371-550: The efficient management of genebanks, facilitates coordination between conserving institutions, and organizes final backup of crop seeds in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault . Since its establishment, the Crop Trust has raised more than USD 300 million for the Crop Diversity Endowment Fund and supports conservation work in over 80 countries. Crop diversity is the biological foundation of agriculture, and

12510-541: The empire in 286, ruling over the eastern half from Nicomedia , while his co-emperor Maximian ruled the western half from Mediolanum (when not on the move). The empire was further divided in 293, when Diocletian named two caesar , one for each augustus (emperor). Diocletian tried to turn into a system of non-dynastic succession, similar to the Antonine dynasty. Upon abdication in 305, both caesars succeeded and they, in turn, appointed two colleagues for themselves. However,

12649-443: The end of apartheid, more than 150 universities divested of South African investments, although it is not clear to what extent this campaign was responsible for ending the policy. A proactive version of divestment campaigns is impact investing, or mission investing which refers to investments "made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate a measurable, beneficial social or environmental impact alongside

12788-521: The end of the Western Roman Empire and, for many historians, the beginning of the Middle Ages . The decline of the city's population was caused by the loss of grain shipments from North Africa, from 440 onward, and the unwillingness of the senatorial class to maintain donations to support a population that was too large for the resources available. Even so, strenuous efforts were made to maintain

12927-468: The endowment and to compensate for inflation and recessions in future years. This spending figure represents the proportion that historically could be spent without diminishing the principal amount of the endowment fund. The case of Leona Helmsley is often used to illustrate the downsides of the legal concept of donor intent as applied to endowments. In the 2000s, Helmsley bequested a multi-billion dollar trust to "the care and welfare of dogs". This trust

13066-524: The endowment fund as an essential element of its funding strategy and confirms the autonomy of the Crop Trust as a scientific organization in raising and disbursing funds. Geoff Hawtin was appointed the Interim Executive Director of the new organization, housed at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy. The Crop Trust began its work gathering contributions for the endowment fund from various foundations, corporations, and governments that had ratified

13205-400: The entourage of Cardinal Albornoz , who was charged with restoring the Church's power in Italy. Back in power for a short time, Cola was soon lynched by the populace, and Albornoz took possession of the city. In 1377, Rome became the seat of the papacy again under Gregory XI . The return of the pope to Rome in that year unleashed the Western Schism (1377–1418), and for the next forty years,

13344-400: The erosion of corpus over reasonable time frames. Restricted endowments may also facilitate additional donor requirements. An expendable endowment fund is one which can be spent in certain circumstances. Endowment revenue can be restricted by donors to serve many purposes. Endowed professorships or scholarships restricted to a particular subject are common; in some places, a donor could fund

13483-584: The face of Rome dramatically, with works like the Pietà by Michelangelo and the frescoes of the Borgia Apartments . Rome reached the highest point of splendour under Pope Julius II (1503–1513) and his successors Leo X and Clement VII , both members of the Medici family . In this twenty-year period, Rome became one of the greatest centres of art in the world. The old St. Peter's Basilica built by Emperor Constantine

13622-502: The facility. With support from donors, the Crop Trust also assists selected genebanks in packaging and shipping seeds to the Seed Vault. Financial endowment A financial endowment is a legal structure for managing, and in many cases indefinitely perpetuating, a pool of financial , real estate , or other investments for a specific purpose according to the will of its founders and donors . Endowments are often structured so that

13761-423: The failed attempt of social reform of the populares Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus , and the war against Jugurtha , there was a civil war from which the general Sulla emerged victorious. A major slave revolt under Spartacus followed, and then the establishment of the first Triumvirate with Caesar , Pompey and Crassus . The conquest of Gaul made Caesar immensely powerful and popular, which led to

13900-426: The financial health of educational institutions. Alumni or friends of institutions sometimes contribute capital to the endowment. The use of endowment funding is strong in the United States and Canada but less commonly found outside of North America, with the exceptions of Cambridge and Oxford universities. Endowment funds have also been created to support secondary and elementary school districts in several states in

14039-603: The first half of the first century (under Tiberius ) and popularised by his apostles through the empire and beyond. The Antonine age is considered the zenith of the Empire, whose territory ranged from the Atlantic Ocean to the Euphrates and from Britain to Egypt . After the end of the Severan dynasty in AD 235, the Empire entered into a 50-year period known as the Crisis of

14178-674: The first plunder of the city in more than five hundred years since the previous sack ; in 1527, the Landsknechts of Emperor Charles V sacked the city , bringing an abrupt end to the golden age of the Renaissance in Rome. Beginning with the Council of Trent in 1545, the Church began the Counter-Reformation in response to the Reformation, a large-scale questioning of the Church's authority on spiritual matters and governmental affairs. This loss of confidence led to major shifts of power away from

14317-684: The five-year CGIAR Genebank CRP, taking on financial responsibility and oversight for the 11 CGIAR genebanks. In 2017, the CGIAR Genebank Platform replaced the Genebank CRP program and the Food Forever Initiative was launched to raise awareness of efforts to achieve Target 2.5 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals . In 2018, the Crop Trust signed the first long-term funding agreement with

14456-477: The future king Henry VIII , created the first endowed chairs in divinity at the universities of Oxford ( Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity ) and Cambridge ( Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity ). Nearly 50 years later, Henry VIII established the Regius Professorships at both universities, this time in five subjects: divinity, civil law, Hebrew, Greek, and physic—the last of those corresponding to what

14595-642: The governance of the Holy See ) is an independent country inside the city boundaries of Rome, the only existing example of a country within a city. Rome is often referred to as the City of Seven Hills due to its geographic location, and also as the "Eternal City". Rome is generally considered to be the cradle of Western civilization and Western Christian culture , and the centre of the Catholic Church . Rome's history spans 28 centuries. While Roman mythology dates

14734-471: The help of the plebs (urban lower class) to gain power. In the same period, the bankruptcy of the small farmers and the establishment of large slave estates caused large-scale migration to the city. The continuous warfare led to the establishment of a professional army, which turned out to be more loyal to its generals than to the republic. Because of this, in the late 2nd and early 1st century BC there were several conflicts both abroad and internally: after

14873-418: The inflation-adjusted principal or "corpus" value is kept intact, while a portion of the fund can be (and in some cases must be) spent each year, utilizing a prudent spending policy. Endowments are often governed and managed either as a nonprofit corporation , a charitable foundation , or a private foundation that, while serving a good cause, might not qualify as a public charity. In some jurisdictions, it

15012-545: The institution competitive over hiring and retention of talents. An endowed scholarship is tuition (and possibly other costs) assistance that is permanently paid for by an organisation or individual with the revenue of an endowment fund specifically set up for that purpose. It can be either merit-based or need-based (the latter is only awarded to those students for whom the college expense would cause their family financial hardship) depending on university policy or donor preferences. Some universities will facilitate donors' meeting

15151-590: The luxury fashion house Fendi located in the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana . The presence of renowned international brands in the city has made Rome an important centre of fashion and design, and the Cinecittà Studios have been the set of many Academy Award –winning movies. According to the Ancient Romans' founding myth , the name Roma came from the city's founder and first king , Romulus . However, it

15290-459: The mid-1980s when the comune had more than 2.8 million residents. After this, the population declined slowly as people began to move to nearby suburbs. Rome is in the Lazio region of central Italy on the Tiber ( Italian : Tevere ) river. The original settlement developed on hills that faced onto a ford beside the Tiber Island , the only natural ford of the river in this area. The Rome of

15429-614: The monumental centre, the palatine, and the largest baths, which continued to function until the Gothic siege of 537. The large baths of Constantine on the Quirinale were even repaired in 443, and the extent of the damage exaggerated and dramatised. However, the city gave an appearance overall of shabbiness and decay because of the large abandoned areas due to population decline. The population declined to 500,000 by 452 and 100,000 by 500 AD (perhaps larger, though no certain figure can be known). After

15568-714: The north Latium town of Sutri to the Church, starting its temporal power. In 756, Pepin the Short , after having defeated the Lombards, gave the Pope temporal jurisdiction over the Roman Duchy and the Exarchate of Ravenna , thus creating the Papal States . Since this period, three powers tried to rule the city: the pope, the nobility (together with the chiefs of militias, the judges, the Senate and

15707-466: The outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War . Italian troops were able to capture Rome entering the city through a breach near Porta Pia . Pope Pius IX declared himself a prisoner in the Vatican . In 1871 the capital of Italy was moved from Florence to Rome. In 1870 the population of the city was 212,000, all of whom lived with the area circumscribed by the ancient city, and in 1920, the population

15846-507: The poor. In India, wakfs are relatively common among Muslim communities and are regulated by the Central Wakf Council and governed by Wakf Act 1995 (which superseded Wakf Act 1954). Academic institutions, such as colleges and universities, will frequently control an endowment fund that finances a portion of the operating or capital requirements of the institution. In addition to a general endowment fund, each university may also control

15985-504: The pope, the emperor, and each other. These were the times of Theodora and her daughter Marozia , concubines and mothers of several popes, and of Crescentius , a powerful feudal lord, who fought against the Emperors Otto II and Otto III . The scandals of this period forced the papacy to reform itself: the election of the pope was reserved to the cardinals, and reform of the clergy was attempted. The driving force behind this renewal

16124-453: The populace), and the Frankish king, as king of the Lombards, patricius, and Emperor. These three parties (theocratic, republican, and imperial) were a characteristic of Roman life during the entire Middle Ages. On Christmas night of 800, Charlemagne was crowned in Rome as Emperor by Pope Leo III : on that occasion, the city hosted for the first time the two powers whose struggle for control

16263-426: The profit from it to charity.'" It goes on to say that Umar gave it away as alms, that the land itself would not be sold, inherited or donated. He gave it away for the poor, the relatives, the slaves, the jihad , the travelers and the guests. And it will not be held against him who administers it if he consumes some of its yield in an appropriate manner or feeds a friend who does not enrich himself by means of it. When

16402-438: The program officer who had an interest and then goes away" and recommended that an independent endowment be established and that "[n]ative leadership is crucial". Another approach to reforming endowments is the use of divestment campaigns to encourage endowments to not hold unethical investments. One of the earliest modern divestment campaigns was Disinvestment from South Africa which was used to protest apartheid policies. By

16541-478: The shore, where the south-western district of Ostia is located. The altitude of the central part of Rome ranges from 13 m (43 ft) above sea level (at the base of the Pantheon ) to 139 m (456 ft) above sea level (the peak of Monte Mario ). The Comune of Rome covers an overall area of about 1,285 km (496 sq mi), including many green areas. Public parks and nature reserves cover

16680-399: The students they are helping. The amount that must be donated to start an endowed scholarship can vary greatly. Fellowships are similar, although they are most commonly associated with graduate students. In addition to helping with tuition, they may also include a stipend. Fellowships with a stipend may encourage students to work on a doctorate . Frequently, teaching or working on research is

16819-657: The successors of Peter, who is considered the first Bishop of Rome. The city thus became of increasing importance as the centre of the Catholic Church . After the Lombard invasion of Italy (569–572), the city remained nominally Byzantine, but in reality, the popes pursued a policy of equilibrium between the Byzantines , the Franks , and the Lombards . In 729, the Lombard king Liutprand donated

16958-532: The support system from its control. Christianity in the form of the Nicene Creed became the official religion of the empire in 380, via the Edict of Thessalonica issued in the name of three emperors – Gratian, Valentinian II, and Theodosius I – with Theodosius clearly the driving force behind it. He was the last emperor of a unified empire: after his death in 395, his young children, Honorius and Arcadius , inherited

17097-569: The symbol of Rome's constituted republican government . Furthermore, Rome has been called Urbs Aeterna (The Eternal City), Caput Mundi (The Capital of the world ), Throne of St. Peter and Roma Capitale. While there have been discoveries of archaeological evidence of human occupation of the Rome area from approximately 14,000 years ago, the dense layer of much younger debris obscures Palaeolithic and Neolithic sites. Evidence of stone tools, pottery, and stone weapons attest to about 10,000 years of human presence. Several excavations support

17236-467: The three Macedonian Wars (212–168 BC) against Macedonia . The first Roman provinces were established at this time: Sicily , Sardinia and Corsica , Hispania , Macedonia , Achaea and Africa . From the beginning of the 2nd century BC, power was contested between two groups of aristocrats: the optimates , representing the conservative part of the Senate , and the populares , which relied on

17375-430: The university by providing a faculty member who does not have to be paid entirely out of the operating budget, allowing the university to either reduce its student-to-faculty ratio, a statistic used for college rankings and other institutional evaluations, or direct money that would otherwise have been spent on salaries toward other university needs. In addition, holding such a professorship is considered to be an honour in

17514-686: The view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman Forum . Between the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age , each hill between the sea and the Capitoline Hill was topped by a village (on the Capitoline, a village is attested since the end of the 14th century BC). However, none of them yet had an urban quality. Nowadays, there

17653-433: The war as part of the " Italian economic miracle " of post-war reconstruction and modernisation in the 1950s and early 1960s. During this period, the years of la dolce vita ("the sweet life"), Rome became a fashionable city, with popular classic films such as Ben Hur , Quo Vadis , Roman Holiday and La Dolce Vita filmed in the city's iconic Cinecittà Studios . The rising trend in population growth continued until

17792-406: The wealthiest entities in the world, notably private higher education endowments . Harvard University's endowment (valued at $ 53.2 billion as of June 2021 ) is the largest academic endowment in the world. As of 31 December 2022 , the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is the second wealthiest private foundation , with an endowment of $ 67.3 billion. Most private endowments in

17931-400: The world. This provides security of the world’s food supply against the loss of seeds in genebanks due to mismanagement, accident, equipment failures, funding cuts, and natural disasters . It is designed to hold the seeds of some 4.5 million samples of different varieties of agricultural crops . Primarily through the endowment fund, the Crop Trust provides most of the annual operating costs for

18070-472: Was 660,000. A significant portion lived outside the walls in the north and across the Tiber in the Vatican area. Soon after World War I in late 1922 Rome witnessed the rise of Italian Fascism led by Benito Mussolini , who led a march on the city . He did away with democracy by 1926, eventually declaring a new Italian Empire and allying Italy with Nazi Germany in 1938. Mussolini demolished fairly large parts of

18209-530: Was estimated at the time to total 10 times more than the combined 2005 assets of all registered animal-related charities in the United States. In 1914, Frederick Goff sought to eliminate the "dead hand" of organized philanthropy and so created the Cleveland Foundation : the first community foundation . He created a corporately structured foundation that could utilize community gifts in a responsive and need-appropriate manner. Scrutiny and control resided in

18348-649: Was first under the control of Odoacer and then became part of the Ostrogothic Kingdom before returning to East Roman control after the Gothic War , which devastated the city in 546 and 550 . Its population declined from more than a million in AD 210 to 500,000 in AD 273 to 35,000 after the Gothic War (535–554), reducing the sprawling city to groups of inhabited buildings interspersed among large areas of ruins, vegetation, vineyards and market gardens. It

18487-443: Was governed by creating regional dioceses. The existence of regional fiscal units from 286 served as the model for this unprecedented innovation. The emperor quickened the process of removing military command from governors. Henceforth, civilian administration and military command would be separate. He gave governors more fiscal duties and placed them in charge of the army logistical support system as an attempt to control it by removing

18626-561: Was heading south to fight the Hohenstaufen on behalf of the pope, was appointed Senator. Charles founded the Sapienza , the university of Rome. In that period the pope died, and the cardinals, summoned in Viterbo , could not agree on his successor. This angered the people of the city, who then unroofed the building where they met and imprisoned them until they had nominated the new pope; this marked

18765-647: Was known as the caput Mundi , i.e. the capital of the known world, an expression which had already been used in the Republican period. During its first two centuries, the empire was ruled by emperors of the Julio-Claudian , Flavian (who built an eponymous amphitheatre known as the Colosseum ), and Antonine dynasties. This time was also characterised by the spread of the Christian religion, preached by Jesus Christ in Judea in

18904-405: Was restored in part much later). In 330, he transformed Byzantium into Constantinople , which became his new capital. However, it was not officially anything more than an imperial residence like Milan , Trier or Nicomedia until given a city prefect in 359 by Constantius II . Constantine, following Diocletian's reforms. regionalised the administration, which fundamentally changed the way it

19043-566: Was the monk Ildebrando da Soana , who once elected pope under the name of Gregory VII became involved into the Investiture Controversy against Emperor Henry IV . Subsequently, Rome was sacked and burned by the Normans under Robert Guiscard who had entered the city in support of the Pope, then besieged in Castel Sant'Angelo . During this period, the city was autonomously ruled by

19182-582: Was to be a constant of the Middle Ages. This event marks the beginning of the Carolingian Empire , the first phase of the Holy Roman Empire . In 846, Muslim Arabs unsuccessfully stormed the city's walls , but managed to loot St. Peter 's and St. Paul's basilica, both outside the city wall. After the decay of Carolingian power , Rome fell prey to feudal chaos: several noble families fought against

19321-536: Was united as the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 with the temporary capital in Florence . That year Rome was declared the capital of Italy even though it was still under the Pope's control. During the 1860s, the last vestiges of the Papal States were under French protection thanks to the foreign policy of Napoleon III . French troops were stationed in the region under Papal control. In 1870 the French troops were withdrawn due to

#922077