Posted: April 20

Happy birthday, Rome

(Rome) Life in the Curia has returned to its normal rhythm, which for me means being busy with multiple projects, and even the seasons are starting to behave according to custom. Today was a beautiful spring morning, and the only appropriate thing was to head out on my bicycle, according to custom. At times I passed flowering bushes and smelled the scent of spring. Just when the day seemed the epitome of normality, I ran into police blocking off the street that runs along the old Circus Maximus near the Tiber. There were crowds in the open field and initially I thought that they were closing this street off just as they close the one running through the forum every Sunday morning.

Then I saw the banners and the soldiers in uniforms of the ancient Roman armies and men and wom en dressed in togas. Nor normal at all. Stop the bike and see what is going on. What was starting was a parade of people of all ages dressed in Roman attire: citizens in togas, senators, gladiators, soldiers, even dancing girls. Mostly it looked very authentic, since the faces I saw were the direct descendants of the people who built the statues and monuments that still exist. Today’s Romans dressed up in ancient robes look pretty much like the images of ancient Romans that you can see in museums.

Of course, there were some discordant notes. Among the gladiators were three women; and I doubt that is historically accurate, although the big woman with the long-handled wooden mallet and the frown did not seem the right person to ask about historicity. The soldiers legs also seemed a bit too pale and flabby, compared to the real Roman soldiers who regularly marched great distances. I couldn’t quibble, though; Romans have a right to dress up like their ancestors just as much as folks in the United States can dress up like Revolutionary War or Civil War soldiers.

Besides, Romans are celebrating the founding of their city back in 753 BC. The official birthday celebration is April 21 but special events precede that day, such as the historical parade I bumped into. They were headed for the Colosseums and then the Via dei Fori Imperiali before arriving at the statue of Caesar to put down a commemorative wreath. According to legend, the twin brothers Romulus and Remus were the founders of Rome. Following the murder of Remus, Romulus became the first king of Rome. The traditional date of Romulus' sole reign and the founding of Rome is April 21, 753 BC.