Going to the Dogs, Italian Style

A look into Italy’s canine love affair, from Rome’s founding myth to modern pups dressed as popes

Mocha at the supermarket (EJL photo)

In my neighborhood, I’m mostly known as the guy with Mocha.

Most people are lovely. They know my order at the coffee bars, and I wave into the enoteca and butcher shop as I pass by. Walking down any of the area’s streets, there’s a friendly ciao or buongiorno every minute or two.

But when I leave Mocha at home, I become nearly invisible. People I’d usually greet just look right past me.

It doesn’t happen too often, because Mocha comes almost everywhere. She loves riding on a motorino, earning countless smiles and thumbs-up from fellow motorists. Most restaurants accept well-behaved dogs. They can use public transportation. Many supermarkets have special carts, so canine friends don’t have to wait outside. Mocha once even sat in on an interview I conducted with a government minister¹.

It's not just Mocha. Italy in general is famously dog friendly. But I don’t know any place where dogs are as adored as in Rome, which regularly ranks among the world’s most dog-friendly big cities.

The Cave Canem mosaic at Pompeii (EJL photo)

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Modern Love

Rome’s founding begins with La Lupa, a she-wolf who nursed infant twins Romulus and Remus, the city’s mythical founders.