When was Rome founded?

Roman tradition held that the city was founded on 21 April 753 BC by Romulus, who killed his twin brother Remus in a quarrel over where to build it. The legend says the twins were abandoned as babies and suckled by a she-wolf beside the River Tiber. Archaeology suggests the real story is more gradual, with villages on the Palatine Hill dating back to around the 10th century BC or earlier. These settlements grew together over time into a single city. Romans counted years “from the founding of the city”, and Rome still celebrates its birthday every 21 April.