Meanwhile, she was the catalyst behind the Twombly painting from his Rome series, which hangs on the dining room wall.

WSJ: The House That Gucci Built

That position was based on his early season form on clay, when he won four titles, including beating Gustavo Kuerten in the Masters Series event in Rome in the build-up to Roland Garros.

BBC: Juan Carlos Ferrero

The process of choosing a new pope involves cardinals from across the world gathering in Rome where they will then carry out a series of secret ballots until one of their number receives a majority of two-thirds of the votes.

BBC: Pope Benedict XVI amends Roman Catholic conclave law

But he has been surpassed by Rafael Nadal on the list of all-time Masters Series titles after the Spaniard won in Rome to match record-holder Andre Agassi on 17.

CNN: Federer registers first clay win of 2010

The contrast between this innovative motorsport series and the rich ancient history of Rome is one I am sure the public and the media will be intrigued and enriched by.

ENGADGET: Rome to bring Formula E to Europe, joins a growing eco-racing scene

The Monte Carlo resident made it to final of the Madrid Masters Series event and the last four of the Rome and Toronto Masters, as well as reaching at least the semi-finals stages in five other tournaments.

BBC: Jiri Novak

While the pipeline is scheduled to link up a series of existing transmission lines in Algeria and head to the shoreline outside of Rome, it is designed to cut across Sardinia along the way.

FORBES: Galsi Pipeline Suffers What Could be Final Blow