City Manager, Sammy Rich shares evidence and expert findings with Arts Committee.
For Immediate Release: Stolen Capitoline Wolf Baby to Return to Its Mother
The now beloved Capitoline Wolf was not so popular when it was first introduced as a gift from old Rome to new Rome in 1929. Considered by locals as unsuitable for young viewers, the art work was often covered for events at Rome City Hall where ladies would be present.
Much controversy continued to follow the work of art and a couple of years after it was installed, one of the babies was stolen (Romulus and Remus were fraternal twins) and was never recovered. The Rome Rotary Club and the International Rotary Club worked together to replace the stolen one.
Officials now claim that they have discovered the lost baby and plan to restore the statue to it’s original condition as soon as funds can be raised to cover the expense of the restoration work.
During the recent flooding, debris had become entangled around the Roman Holiday props, which necessitated pulling the boat from the water. As the boat was being extracted, a tree came along with it. An old canvas rucksack was entwined in the roots. A representative from the US Coast Guard, Tom Sims, was present during the event. It was Mr. Sims who first saw the sack and pulled it from the roots. Everyone was shocked as the contents were revealed. Having grown up around Rome’s rivers, Mr. Sims and several others, knew the story of the stolen baby. It was not lost on the crowd that just as the mythical twins were cast into the river, the kidnapper from long ago must have had a conscience and threw the stolen baby into the river.
Etruscan art historian, Sheila Wulph, was called in to examine the statue. Through radiocarbon and thermoluminescence dating it has been determined the piece was authentic and indeed was the missing baby.
Local leaders are expected to make an official announcement today, April 1, 2016. Get more details now.
Free Family-Fun: Over 50 local artists featured at this weekend’s Spring Art Market.
About the Author
Our Georgia's Rome tourism team works hard to curate content to help you discover and explore our beautiful town! We want to ensure our content is up-to-date and accurate; so please let us know if we ever overlook an important detail! This post was originally written by Kristi Kent and is updated by staff.
Good one!