I suspect a few of you are cat lovers. Check out The History Blog for a piece about cats in Rome and the crazy people who take care of them.
At the end of that piece is – oddly – something about the assassination of Julius Caesar. The last time I was in Rome, only about a month ago, I posted about the street which is thought to correspond to the area by portico of Pompey’s Theatre where Caesar was killed. There is an inscription along the building. It’s still there!
It is commonly said that Caesar was killed in the Senate, under a statue of Pompey the Great, with whom Julius had had a bit of a war. More accurately, Caesar was killed at a meeting of the Senate held at the chamber for Senate meetings Pompey had built at his mansion/theatre complex outside the Pomerium, the inner city border which no general with imperium could cross. The Senate could meet in the different places, including various temples. And since the old Senate house had burned down in a night of tumult (the Clodius and Milo affair) they were meeting out at Pompey’s old place.
Here is a shot of a surviving marker for the Pomerium from the time of the Emperor Claudius. I took this the other night while walking home from the Requiem Mass I posted about.
If memory serves, there is another Pomerium stone in the entry gate to S. Cecilia in Trastevere.
In any event, perhaps today is a good day to read about the removal of a leader, not with knives, bu by ballot.
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Cat lover here! I remember the furry colony at Largo di Torre Argentina, but I didn’t know this was such a big shelter! Of course they should stay. Isn’t the Pope a great feline friend? Maybe he could visit the place, pet some cats, and bless the whole thing ;-)
I have always been a devout Cat-holic :-)
“I have always been a devout Cat-holic :-)”
Well, I hold to the Church’s Dog-ma :)
The Chicken
I do love cats, but I love my wife more, and she’s allergic.
@Chicken: I think it’s wise of you to stick with dogs – you would be too tempting for a cat, even though you are masked ;-)
Cat lover here. Father, you should go see the kitties and pat them on their fuzzy little heads. You may need a lint roller after, but no outfit is complete without cat hair.
I am a dog person not big on cats but I am a Roman by blood, a Catholic by baptism and an actress. I am proud of these Italian actresses who are providing for these feral and abandoned cats. I was sorry to learn recently how badly Italy treats its abandoned animals. That did not run in my Babbo’s bloodstream, grazia Dio. He was beloved by every dog in the neighborhood and my dogs’ best buddy.
I worked for a vet and volunteered for a few years at a local animal shelter. I know how many dogs and cats are put to death here in the USA each day and world wide are shot, poisoned, gassed as so much trash. The God of the Nicene Creed didn’t make trash. God bless these women and their efforts. Another 4 years of Obummer’s financial foolishness and non-vegan Americans will probably be eating cats and dogs!
By the way, the Holy Father used to during his pre-papal days feed the feral cats after Mass and he had a cat named Pablo I believe in his residence.
Why not both?
Lilac and Lab
But, Chicken, I’m afraid you are not safe:
Psycho Ruby with (protesting) passenger (We rescued the passenger and she was returned to the crate unharmed: “This is your lucky day, Ducky.”)
Did you ever hear that joke about the guy who named his dog “Anathema” just so he could say “Anathema sit!!!” ….?