Are you asking HN or Napoleon? Edit for me, the fascination with Rome is almost more what came after it lost its central place in the Empire - the slow decline

Are you asking HN or Napoleon? Edit for me, the fascination with Rome is almost more what came after it lost its central place in the Empire - the slow decline; the almost complete depopulation in the 500s; the rise of the Church; the power struggles between France, the Holy Roman Empire, and Roman nobility; the Renaissance and the Counter-Reformation; the age of Revolutions; and finally its place in a united Italy. Each generation has its own view of Rome, and they reflect and refract off each other. Edit 2 if you have a chance to visit, do! It's a lovely tourist destination.