Italian National Team Comes Home to Good Ol' Fashioned Roman Triumph Fit for an Emperor!

Rome's Tribute to Team Italia!



Tom writes as a comment to my posts on the post-game celebrations of Italy's hard-earned World Cup victory,

"What was the reaction in Venice to the joyous news? Overturned gondolas? Watertaxis burning off the shoulder of Orion?"

Nothing quite so spectacular, other than dancing (and "carousels," wherever possible) in the streets.

But... when the Azzurri landed at the airport outside Rome yesterday, they would first be welcomed with the trademark flyby of the Italian national aeronautics' team, the "Tri-Color Arrows," and then led on a triumphal march into Rome that would have surely made some ancient Roman Emperors insanely jealous!!

Hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people lined the entire route back into the city, cheering their pride to be Italian. Once in the city, a double-decker bus took the team on a route not unlike what the returning victorious ancient Roman generals themselves would have used...

And then the grand procession finally arrived at the Circus Maximus, what had been ancient Rome's greatest racetrack! (Remember Ben Hur?) There, over a million people greeted and celebrated the victors!!

For more details and photos, you can read the Repubblica's coverage of the festivities! (Including more video here and here!)

And now, without further ado... the sound of one million people singing "We Are the Champions"!

Viva Italia!!

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