Answer:
The Rome of today is no longer the centre of a great empire. It is still globally important though, with more than one billion people looking to it as the centre of the Roman Catholic faith. It’s not a coincidence that the capital of the Roman Empire became the centre of Roman Catholicism; Rome’s eventual adoption of Christianity, after centuries of indifference and periodic persecution, gave the new faith enormous reach. Saint Peter was killed in Nero’s persecution of Christians following the Great Fire of 64 AD; but by 319 AD, Emperor Constantine was building the church that was to become St Peter’s Basilica over his grave.
Since its foundation, Ancient Rome was a deeply religious society and religious and political office often went hand in hand. Julius Caesar was Pontifex Maximums, the highest priest before he was elected as Consul, the highest Republican political role. The Romans worshipped a large collection of gods, some of them borrowed from the Ancient Greeks, and their capital was full of temples whereby sacrifice, ritual and festivals the favour of these deities was sought. Julius Caesar approached god-like status at the height of his powers and was deified after his death. His successor Augustus encouraged this practice. And although this apotheosis to divine status happened after death, the Emperor became a god to many Romans, an idea Christians were to later find highly offensive.