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- Rome has for over two thousand years been one of the most important artistic centres in the world. Early Ancient Roman art initially developed from the Etruscan art slightly to its north, but from about 2000 BC, as the Roman republic became involved with the Greek world, Ancient Greek art and architecture became the dominant influence, until the two effectively merged into a Greco-Roman style, often meaning Greek-speaking artists working for Latin-speaking patrons. Roman literature and philosophy was also centred on the capital. Early Christian art and architecture largely developed in the Imperial capital, but the first centuries after the fall of the Western Empire were a relative low point. By 900 AD Rome had recovered much of its position as a leading centre, centred on the Papal court. The removal of the popes from the city in the Avignon Captivity (1309-76), and the city becoming a battleground between rival families of the Black nobility, led to another low period. But the city remained an important pilgrimage destination, and the capital of the significant Papal States, and after the return of the popes there was a considerable artistic revival, above all in the High Renaissance, when a series of art-loving popes gave the Vatican the works that remain world-famous, by artists such as Michelangelo and Raphael, who were mostly imported from elsewhere in Italy. The leading position of Rome continued into the Roman Baroque, in both art and architecture, with figures such as Bernini and Caravaggio. By the 18th century there were fewer new buildings to design or decorate, and much of the artistic patronage in Rome came from foreign visitors on the Grand Tour, or pilgrimage. The Scuola Romana was a 20th-century group of painters, in a form of Expressionism. The Papal court was an important innovator in music during the Renaissance, though later musical development was restricted because there was no opera house until the late 19th century, as cardinals were discouraged from attending opera performances. In a similar way, papal censorship meant that Italian publishing and literature mostly developed outside Rome. Once the national capital of Italy, new areas of the arts such as film production and fashion have developed. (en)
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