THE SYMBOLIC CITY OF ROME.

Rome, the once-small city located on both banks up the Tiber River, the 3rd longest river in Italy, and down the West side of the 700 mi / 1,126 kms, long Italian Peninsula, became, in terms of political importance, the government seat of the greatest World Empire in ancient Bible times.
A knowledge of Roman religion, history and culture sheds light on a number of passages in the Old Testament and New Testament (Isaiah 23; Jeremiah 2; Ezekiel 27). They refer to them in their spiritual form or image (authorities controlling their reality) that were reflected in the Greeks in a different way, since the soil of Italy was more fertile than that of Greek, though the climate was similar, the physical expression of of the spiritual authorities acting in human's behaviour and control behaves differently.  Kittim is also used as a name to refer to them in the same way (1 Maccabees 1-8). The topographical system differs also from that of the Greeks, since the Apen-Nine Mountains form the backbone of the Peninsula with arable land both East and West of the Mountain Range. Unlike Greece, Italy was a land suitable for raising cattle.
The Tiber River rises at Mount Fuma-Iolo in Central Italy. Mount Fuma-Iolo, with an elevation of 1,407 m / 4,616 ft,  is on the Northern Apen-Nines Range in the Southern-most corner of the Emilia-Romagna Region at the border Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany, near to the Mediterranean Sea. It flows in a generally Southerly direction 406 kms / 252 mi through Umbria and Lazio, where it is joined by the Aniene River to the Tyrrhenian Sea.
The source of the Tiber consists of 2 springs 10 meters (33 ft) away from each other, located on the Mount Fuma-Iolo, in a Beech Forest 1,268 m / 4,160 ft above sea level, on the Southern steeps. Although nowadays only one spring remains active, the area is still called "la Venee del Tevere."
Popularly called "Flavus" (the Blond) in reference to the yellowish color of its water. The Tiber River has naturally and heavily advanced at the mouth by about 3 kms (2 mi) since Roman times, leaving the ancient port of Ostia 6 kms (4 mi) inland. However, it does not form a proportional delta, owing to a strong North flowing sea current close to the shore, also to the steep shelving of the Coast, and finally to the slow tectonic subsidence.
Mout Fuma-Iolo overlooks the 3 villages around the area and thanks to its extensive fir and beech forest, it is a well-appreciated tourist area of natural interest. The beech forest is made of low-branching trees made up of several trunks with yellowish bark. The tree canopy casts dense shade, and carpets the ground thickly with leaf litter. Beech bark is extremely thin and scars easily and is unable to heal by itself. The tree can be killed by a fungal disease caused by scale insects.
The soil of the Peninsula is divided in 2 parts: - Continental soil centered on the Po Valley with the Po River running through the center;  - Peninsular soil divided in 3 subparts: East Coast, West Coast, and Southern Boot. Having few good harbors, such as the Bay of Naples, which together with the fact that the Po and the Tiber were the only navigable rivers, impeded the development of trade and commerce by water. That is the reason that the culture was known for its superficiality given the fact that the deep meaning that water embrace was not seeded in their culture. Through their long history the Romans remained landlubbers. The East Coast was sparsely inhabited in antiquity, with very little sailing on the Adriatic and no shipping until the time of the Crusaders. The West Coast consisted of excellent farmland, while the North West part of the Peninsula had mineral resources. The Southern tip also had an abundance of arable land, but was vulnerable to invasion.
Jews were very aware of the spiritual authorities and physical presence of Roman power in the Western Mediterranean. The significant political links between the Maccabees and Rome are narrated in Maccabees 8 and 12. In the New Testament the author of Luke-Acts was particular aware of the ubiquitous spiritual authorities and political presence of Rome, and carefully weaves allusion to Roman history and culture throughout his work, beginning with explicit mention of the reign of Tiberius in Luke 3 and continued through numerous references to Roman political and social institutions in the Acts of the Apostles.
The expansive empire began to grow during the Republic and continued to increase in size until it reached its greater extent in the early 2nd century CE. At its widest extent toward the end of Trajan's reign (98-117), the Roman Empire circled the Mediterranean basin, encompassing all Southern Europe, Britain (to the Scottish border), North Africa (to the Sahara), Egypt (to well beyond the 1st cataract), Asia Minor, the North Coast of the Black Sea, Armenia, and regions South of the Caucasus, Mesopotamia (to the Euphrates), Syria, and Palestine.
Rome, in his geographical position and sheer magnificence, was the superlative city of the Rome Empire, its  capital, and the head of ts power. Located on a series of jutting foothills and low-lying eminences (the 7 hills) East of a bend in the Tiber River close to the Mediterranean Sea, the city was celebrated for its impressive public buildings, aqueducts, baths, theaters, and thoroughfares, many of which led from distant provinces.
Rome was ritually founded on 21 April 753 BC. Its birthday was celebrated during the Republic as the "Parilia," and in the Empire as the "natalis Urbe."There are 2 legends of the founding of Rome which are linked in various ways, both going back to the 4th century BC. One centered on Romulus,and his twin brother Remus, the other on Aeneas, whom Augustus claimed as an ancestor, a prince of Troy who fled to the West following the sack of Troy by the Greeks and eventually founded Rome. It is narrated in epic length in Virgil's Aeneid. The fact that the Romans regarded themselves as descended from the Trojans meant that they differentiated themselves from both Greeks and Etruscans.
The 1st known settlements was built on 7 hills on the East side of the Tiber River. The Palatine was the site of the oldest settlement. The other 6 hills were located around Palatine (beginning in the North and turning clockwise. They were Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, Caelian, Aventine, and Capitoline. In time the  marshy Valleys between the hills were drained and in this areas many dwellings, forums, and circuses were built. After the mid-1st century BC, Rome became known as the "Septi-Montium" (7 Hills)
In 1927, under Benito Mussolini dictatorship, an antique marble column from the Roman Forum was placed on the remaining spring on Mount Fuma-Iolo with an inscription on it: "Qui Nasce il Fiume Sacro Ai Destiny di Roma" (Here still springs the sacred water that feed the river that holds the destiny of Rome). A Roman Eagle stands on the top of the column, and 3 Wolf heads hold a ring in their mouths that are visible on all sides.