The statue of Romulus and Remus on the Capitoline Hill of Rome

Rome, Italy - October 2014; The Capitoline Wolf (Lupa Capitolina) is a famous bronze sculpture of a she-wolf suckling twin human infants, inspired by the legend of the founding of Rome. According to the legend, when Numitor, grandfather of the twins Romulus and Remus, was overthrown by his brother Amulius, the usurper ordered the twins to be cast into the Tiber River. They were rescued by a she-wolf who cared for them until a herdsman, Faustulus, found and raised them. The rest is history. The statue has been housed since 1471 at its present site on the ancient Capitoline Hill of Rome, Italy. The age and origin of the statue is uncertain; it was long thought to be an Etruscan work of the 5th century BCE, with the twins added in the late 15th century AD, probably by the sculptor Antonio Pollaiolo However, radiocarbon and thermoluminescence dating has found that the wolf portion of the statue was likely cast between 1021 and 1153. (Photo by: Planet One Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)