Are Cities Eternal?

All cities could be eternal but only one deserves that name. It’s not Orlando or Memphis but Rome. The city has been called eternal since before anyone can remember although there were moments when eternity was very much in doubt. There was the time Hannibal encamped his army of elephants within sight of the capital, the years Vandals periodically sacked the Forum, decades in the Middle Ages when disease decimated dwindling populations and a Second World War that nearly extinguished all hope. Through it all Rome survived and earned the right to be called La Città Eterna (Eternal City). Whether it will continue being eternal no one knows but based on past evidence it won’t be abandoned without a fight.