"Storia romana" - is it about the history of city of Rome or about the history of Ancient Roman Empire? Or both, depending on context? And what if the context allows both (ha letto un libro di storia romana)?
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2It usually should refer to the history of roman civilization, but as you said it can depend on the context and mean as well the history of the city of Rome and its surroundings - something about local happenings maybe.– Riccardo De ContardiCommented Dec 18, 2019 at 23:09
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2Just a nitpicker's note: Roman history and civilisation began more than seven centuries before Roman empire.– DaGCommented Dec 19, 2019 at 7:31
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@DaG I admit a little bit of clickbait - "City or empire" just sounds more expressive than "city or civilization" :)– Russo TuristoCommented Dec 19, 2019 at 8:08
2 Answers
It usually should refer to the history of Roman civilization, but as you said it can heavily depend on the context and mean as well the history of the city of Rome and its surroundings - something about local happenings and that covers a shorter span of time, maybe.
Per storia romana si intende solitamente quella antica (dai Re alla Repubblica all'Impero). Se si vuole parlare della città di Roma come tale, normalmente si specifica (la Roma antica, la Roma papale, la Roma moderna, la Roma rinascimentale, la Roma attuale, ecc.). Questo soprattutto in mancanza di contesto immediatamente palese.