Economy of Rome - History

History

Ancient Rome commanded a vast area of land, with tremendous natural and human resources. As such, Rome's economy remained focused on farming and trade. Agricultural free trade changed the Italian landscape, and by the 1st century BC, vast grape and olive estates had supplanted the yeoman farmers, who were unable to match the imported grain price. The annexation of Egypt, Sicily and Tunisia in North Africa provided a continuous supply of grains. In turn, olive oil and wine were Italy's main exports. Two-tier crop rotation was practiced, but farm productivity was overall low, around 1 ton per hectare.

Some economists like Peter Temin consider the Roman Empire a market economy, similar in its degree of capitalistic practices to 17th century Netherlands and 18th century England.

After the Decline of the Roman Empire, Rome fell into decadence, with its ex-economic and political power passing on to other cities, such as Milan, Florence, Venice and Palermo. Even though Rome still had the powerful pope, the city ceased to be a major centre for commerce, trade and finance.

The Roman economy, however, boomed in the 16th and 17th centuries, especially when the Medici popes Leo X and Clement VII were in power. The renaissance transformed Rome into a city of the arts, culture, politics, banking, commerce and trade, especially when the Florentine merchants involved in papal affairs, yielded huge profits.

Rome grew momentously after the war, as one of the driving forces behind the "Italian economic miracle" of post-war reconstruction and modernisation. It became a fashionable city in the 1950s and early 1960s, the years of la dolce vita ("the sweet life"), with popular classic films such as Ben Hur, Quo Vadis, Roman Holiday and La Dolce Vita, being filmed in the city's iconic Cinecittà Studios. A new rising trend in population continued until the mid-1980s, when the commune had more than 2,800,000 residents; after that, population started to slowly decline as more residents moved to nearby suburbs.