Rhea Silvia was a vestal virgin and daughter of a king. When she gave birth to Romulus and Remus, her brother ordered the death of his neo-nephews to avoid competition for the throne. But the god, Tiberinus, thought that killing babies was unethical and had their lives spared.  Left on the banks of the Tiber, Romulus and Remus were found by a she-wolf. La Lupa, as she is known in Rome, nursed the twins and helped them survive. Romulus and Remus being suckled by La Lupa has become the symbol of Rome and their image is found all over town.

Also commonly seen are the Madonnelles. That is, little Madonna representations meant to keep watch over the street thus placed near an intersection. Often the Madonnas are embedded in little shrines and probably took the place of the statues of ancient Roman gods.

We should feel very protected as above our balcony is La Lupa and below is La Madonna.

Our neighborhood is full of beautiful façades including that of our building. Our balcony is very narrow but I have filled it with yucca plants as they are so easy to care for. Plus plants are not only lovely to look at, they help clean the air. Phytoremediation is the use of plants to detox nature and one reason why green roofs and vertical gardens have become so popular. I would like to imagine all of Rome’s balconies full of plants but unfortunately so many are bare or used for storage. But if you are truly concerned about climate change, why not plant something?

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Related: A Mended Umbrella and phytoremediation + Phytoremediation + Green Roof +

(“History of a Home”  Cynthia Korzekwa ©)