There's a well-known spot for tourists arriving in Rome, located in the Square of the Knights of the Order of Malta. This spot frequently attracts crowds of curious visitors.
You’ll probably recognized it from the image—the famous keyhole of the old gate, through which you can get a perfectly framed view of St. Peter’s Dome.
However, there is now a new element that tourists are encountering that isn’t quite as familiar. When asked about it, the tourists' answers were sometimes a bit confused:
"Ah! The little wolf! Yeah, yeah! I don’t know what it is, I thought it was Romulus and Remus’s, but maybe I got it wrong."
However, there were others who immediately recognize the new figure accompanying the dome:
"Amazing! Now you see the Dome with the lion! I think it’s nice to honor the new Pope this way, to welcome him like this. It’s a beautiful gesture of welcome because this is a spot everyone sees—all the tourists."
And indeed, this is a tribute that the Order of Malta wanted to offer to Pope Leo XIV: a lion standing upright, walking confidently.
The artist behind this image is Davide Rivalta, and its presence in the gardens of the Magistral Villa of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta is the result of a collaboration between the Order’s ambassador, Antonio Landi, and the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome.
BAM
Trans. CRT
