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All the United States Ohio Cincinnati Twin Lakes Capitoline Wolf

Twin Lakes Capitoline Wolf

Mussolini gave Cincinnati a bronze statue of Romulus and Remus suckling at a wolf's teats.

Cincinnati, Ohio

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Eric
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CAPTION
A gift from Mussolini to the city of Cincinnati   Daderot
The Capitoline Wolf in Eden Park   i2istudios
Romulus and Remus, legendary founders of Rome   QuipTV
The original sculpture at the Musei Capitolini in Rome   Carole Raddato
She’s a replica of the oritinal statue in Rome   Daderot
Plaque at the statue   Daderot
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
Statue is Missing   zdragon007 / Atlas Obscura User
Statue Vandalized   Cincinnati Police Department
  sydneyhackworthj / Atlas Obscura User
  kyle 73de4294 / Atlas Obscura User
Replacement Capitoline Wolf Statue   mastruserio / Atlas Obscura User
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About

By 1931, Benito Mussolini had been in power for 10 years, and he marked the anniversary by sending a few replicas of Rome's iconic Lupa Capitolina (Capitoline Wolf) statue around to other cities, including this one to Cincinnati. Unlike the cities of Rome, Georgia or Rome, New York (which each have one too), Ohio’s third largest city isn’t named after the Italian capital, but for the beloved Roman statesman, Cincinnatus. And that was good enough for Il Duce.

Set in Eden Park along the banks of Twin Lakes, the bronze statue is the same strangely shaped canis lupis as the original, an artwork that has come to symbolize Rome. It depicts the legend of Romulus and Remus, twin founders of the city, suckling at the she-wolf's teat.

There are scores of copies around the world, many of them given as gifts by Mussolini. The one that landed here came through an arrangement made by the Order Sons of Italy, Cincinnati Chapter. As the only city in America to honor the great Cincinnatus, it seemed like a no-brainer at the time.  

When the statue was gifted to Cincinnati, Mussolini had already established the Fascist Party and installed himself as Italy’s ruler. But if things looked like they might get a little dicey with a gift from a dictator as the 1930s wore on, the statue somehow managed to escape too much controversy. It has stayed put on its marble pedestal for the more than eight decades since.

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Statues Roman Reproduction Wolves

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The statue is in Eden Park, just west of the Ohio River in downtown Cincinnati. The statue is by Twin Lakes, alongside some picnics table, just off Lake Drive.

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ericdoug85

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Drewscura, riafc, mastruserio, Collector of Experiences...

  • Drewscura
  • riafc
  • mastruserio
  • Collector of Experiences
  • sydneyhackworthj
  • kyle 73de4294
  • zdragon007

Published

January 4, 2017

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  • https://spectrumnews1.com/oh/cincinnati/news/2022/06/17/cincinnati-police-search-for-thief-of-eden-park-wolf-statue
  • http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/local/2015/01/07/dictators-gift-cincinnati/21405847/
  • http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?uri=full=3100001~!298851!0
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitoline_Wolf_Statue,_Cincinnati
Twin Lakes Capitoline Wolf
Lake Drive
Eden Park
Cincinnati, Ohio
United States
39.117587, -84.487875
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