On April XXI, Rome celebrates another birth, its own. It celebrates the founding of what is now the “eternal city” but which on that spring day in 753 B.C. was little more than a rut in the ground.
The legend is as vivid as ever in the collective imagination, behind the plowshare that ripped up the earth on the Palatine Hill to fix the city’s first boundaries was Romulus. Little more than an infant, together with his twin brother Remus he was nursed by the She-wolf until he became the first of the seven kings of Rome. And wrapped in the colors gold and purple, the ancient bronze sculpture depicting the Capitoline She-wolf suckling the twins is the very symbol and embodiment of the city.
April 21, 2025 is also World Water Day, and it is no coincidence that Rome and its river are protagonists of a destiny intertwined from the beginning. The city destined for everlasting glory could not have been born without the restless Tiber, The river to which the she-wolf came down from the mountains to drink and, attracted by the wails of those two children, nurtured them guided by maternal instinct to begin the legend that became history or a story that became legend.
In the succession of centuries Rome has known glory, splendor and success as well as misery, darkness and defeat. But even from the hardest moments, Rome has always been reborn thanks to the will of its inhabitants. In the early days of June 1944, shortly after the Allied troops entered the city and liberated it from German occupation, the words, “Annatevene tutti lassatece piagne da soli” appeared on a wall. It was a message full of Roman-ness, pride and belief in one’s ability to get back on one’s feet and be reborn, once again.
On this 21st of April, in the spirit of the lucky ones who can look out over the Tiber from Ponte Sant’Angelo as to the rest of the world who cannot be in the city, all that remains is to exclaim cheerfully: happy 2778th birthday Rome!
Appointments
Exactly one year ago, Rome’s Complanari di Roma celebrated its 10th birthday with all the benefits for motorists entering the capital from the eastern quadrant via the urban section of the A24 highway.
And on Rome’s birthday, as reported by the City’s website, with “The Feast of Rome,” the Capitoline Hill will be transformed into an open-air stage, ready to host a day of free cultural events dedicated to the history of Rome. There will be shows, concerts, lectures, performances, activities for girls and boys and museum openings. Special guest of the event will be the folk-rock group “Il Muro del Canto,” which will close the day of celebration with a concert in Piazza del Campidoglio, at the foot of the Capitoline Museums, which are open and exceptionally free for residents of Rome and the Metropolitan City.
The full program at the City of Rome website link
