The capital of Italy is Rome. Rome is a city and special comune in Italy, and it is also the capital of the Province of Rome and of the region of Lazio. It is the countrys largest and most populated comune and the fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. Rome is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio, along the shores of the Tiber river. It is also the spiritual and physical seat of the Roman Catholic Church.