Mama mia!

Romulus and Remus were suckled by a wolf – and then founded Rome and all that followed. It’s telling the way regions, communities, clans and tribes and countries adopt a signature animal to signal their strength and identity.  For Māori it is sometimes called their ‘kaitiaki’ (guardian), for North America’s First Nations, it’s their ‘totem’.  The bigger, stronger and rarer the animal, the more likely it is to become a national symbol, appear on the flag, bank notes, coins, stamps.

There is much debate about the age of the famous statue called 'Capitoline Wolf - some believe it was sculpted in the 5th century BC with the Roman twins added in 15th century AD. Carbon dating suggests it may have been created in the 10th or 11th century.  Anyway, it’s a long-lasting story.  I snapped the small but hungry kids on top of a pillar by the City municipal chambers   … it looks like they and mama have been sweating it the Rome heat just like the rest of us.