The Capitoline She-Wolf statue, located at the southern edge of
Lezama Park, is a replica of the original housed in the Musei
Capitolini, Rome. According to Roman legend, a she-wolf nursed the
infants Romulus and Remus after they were abandoned, ensuring their
survival. Romulus later founded the city of Rome. The statue was
presented to Argentina by Fascist Italy in 1910, and installed in
1921 as part of a broader cultural diplomacy strategy. Several such
statues were sent abroad by Mussolini's regime to assert its
political influence. While it commemorates the founding of Rome, the
statue's placement in Buenos Aires was part of a larger effort to
highlight symbolic continuity between the Roman Empire and Italy's
modern political ambitions. It also reinforced ties with countries
that had significant Italian immigrant populations by invoking
a shared classical heritage. The plinth was designed by Gonzalo Leguizamón Pondal. The statue has been subjected to repeated acts of
vandalism over the years. The figures of Romulus and Remus were
stolen in 2007 and replaced with replicas. In Spanish, the plaque
reads:
Capitoline Wolf
Gonzalo Leguizamón Pondal
Argentinian
1890–1944
