Italy Part One - Lupa, The Trevi Fountain - Rome
- M. W. Upham
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
Welcome to the first part of a ten-part series where I tell of my family's exploration of Italy. For the most part, this will be told from a somewhat journalistic perspective, filled to the brim with factoids about the various locations we visit. However, there will be my own personal opinion and experience woven in. After all, what’s the fun in writing or reading without knowing the author's perspective? We left for Italy from America on September 28th, 2025; however, due to jet lag, we did not arrive until September 29th, 2025. That is where our story begins.
After an eight-hour flight, cramped like sardines, we drive under a nine-hundred-year-old wall into one of the most historically significant cities in the world, Rome. We enter the hotel Metropole and drop off our bags, ignoring our bodies yearning for sleep in favor of exploring the Eternal City. We quickly discover a new series of sculptures at the intersection, a new plaque in the building’s walls, and learn it's impossible to traverse here without seeing a landmark every twenty feet. Each piece is so newly distinct that I cannot resist reaching for my camera, avoiding the cars of citizens who have grown numb to the beauty.
Outside our hotel, there was a small fountain engraved with a wolf, feeding two small children. This image is plastered all over various parts of Italy as a cornerstone of Roman Mythology. The children are named Romulus and Remus, found by the Lupa, the she-wolf, another term for prostitute, and brought to her breast to be nursed to health.
The story begins as most stories often do, with a struggle for power in the nearby city of Alba Longa. The king Amulius forced Rhea Silvia, his brother’s daughter, to become a Vestal Virgin so as to secure his place on the throne for future generations. However, she and the god Mars (or Ares in Greek Myth), had two twin boys, Romulus and Remus. Whether these boys were conceived of love or rape is difficult to determine. Some sources say she was seduced, but in my opinion, that is merely a kinder way to say she was taken against her will.
Nevertheless, when Amulius discovered the boys, he was scared that the birth of new heirs, godly heirs no less, would be a challenge to his power. He ordered the servants to kill the twins. Though sympathetic to the infants, the servants instead cast the twins down the Tiber River in a basket in an attempt to spare their lives. It is then that the kind and gentle Lupa found them by Palatine Hill on the riverbank, where she took them to her breast to nurse until a shepherd was able to adopt the orphaned boys. The spot where she found them would later be named “The Heart of Rome”, as it is what the city considers its start. Though shockingly, this is not where the story ends.
When the boys had aged, now aware of their royal lineage, they decided to found the city of Rome. Though they could not agree on where it is the great city should be founded. Romulus wished to found the city on Palatine Hill, where the Tiber River flowed and offered strategic advantages. Meanwhile, Remus wanted to found the city on Aventine Hill, to take advantage of its fertile farming soil. Ultimately, the twins’ inability to compromise led to the fight and death of Remus, cementing Romulus’ position as the first king of Rome.
The story I have presented is well-known, but I would like to note that I have left out several details regarding the tale. Like all ancient stories, there are many varieties of this tale, and I do not wish to lead my readers astray by including details that may not be set in stone by the original tale, so I have stuck largely to the basics. However, the essential message is that to Rome, this story is meant to represent the strong virtues of loyalty and strength among humble beginnings. For against all odds, the twins were able to survive by the compassion of the she-wolf, which allowed them to grow up to found the Eternal City.
Despite the beauty at every intersection, when we reach The Trevi Fountain, my eyes are wide and unable to leave its magnificence despite the fact that the landmark is drained for coin collection and not at its full glory. With every passing second, I am spotting new details of the fountain and capturing new close-up pictures so as not to lose a single moment. I am fascinated to learn that the centerpiece god is not Neptune, the god of the sea, as one would expect. The god standing atop a shell chariot is none other than Oceanus, the Greek Titan god of all water, surrounded by mermen and seahorses.
I decided to return later to this fountain so as to see it with a working water feature, where it looks twice as stunning when surrounded by a glimmering aqua blue pool. The Trevi Fountain was built in 19BCE by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa to supply water to the city via the Aqua Virgo aqueduct, also known as Virgin Waters, named to honor a young Roman girl who led thirsty soldiers to the spring to drink. Well named for its purpose, the aqueduct brings in water from outside the city into the fountain, where it was once put to use by the local Romans. However, in modern times, the water is continuously recycled for use and is not intended for public consumption.
In the 17th century, Pope Urban VIII commissioned Gian Lorenzo Bernini to redesign the fountain; however, the plans were shelved after the artist’s death. In 1730, Pope Clement XII held a competition for the current design of the fountain, hiring an artist named Nicola Salvi. When construction began in 1732, Salvi opted to use Travertine stone for the fountain, the same stone that was used in the construction of the Colosseum. Unfortunately, Salvi passed before the fountain was finished; instead, the fountain was finished by Giuseppe Pannini in 1762.
After a bit of wandering, we finally decide on a place to eat. I sit and enjoy a shockingly simple meal named carbonara. No Italian or otherwise is quite sure how this recipe entered their cookbooks, but that doesn't change the fact that it is unlike anything I have ever tasted. Supposedly, this meal consists only of spaghetti, egg, cream, cheese, and bacon. Though knowing this, I'm still not sure I could replicate it at home. After lunch, I eat a deliciously creamy Gelato, a treat that can be found on every street, before returning to the hotel for a brief nap.
When we wake, we exit for dinner and I enjoy a new Roman classic, Casio e Pepe, or Cheese and Pepper. Once again, the supposedly simple recipe cannot explain the glory my mouth experiences with every bite. Supposedly, this recipe is exactly the same as Carbonara, but without the cheese and bacon. My stomach is unable to keep up with the richness, and a box is requested to go. Despite this, the friendly staff continues to give us complimentary shots of crema di pistachio, limoncello, and dessert after dessert after dessert of tiramisu and other desserts I could not name. Once we finally break free, I walk to a shop on the street that I cannot enter. It appears as a hole in the wall, and serves me the most delicious strawberry Gelato to end my evening. I finish the frozen treat before entering my hotel to collapse for the night.
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