If you’ve been to Rome, you know the Eternal City loves her cats. The cat colony at Torre Argentina is world-famous, and visitors to the Colosseum, or the Fori Imperiali can testify their presence is well-established in these two famous archaeological symbols of the city, too. The love story between Rome and il gatto is well rooted in history.

Famously worshipped as a divinity in Egypt, where they were often embalmed and mummified like people, cats were also known by the Etruscans, as attested by small cat-like statuettes unearthed by archaeologists. The Romans met them for the first time during their many military campaigns: we can easily imagine soldiers befriending cats, letting them hunt mice in the camp, and sharing food and a bed with them. In fact, cats were so popular in the army that it wasn’t unusual to see legions using the image of a cat as their symbol.