A closer look
Rome allows a massive colony of stray cats to legally live in the ancient ruins of Largo di Torre Argentina, the exact historical site where Julius Caesar was violently assassinated. The local government officially protected the felines as part of the city's bio-cultural heritage, meaning these feral cats have more squatters rights to priceless ancient monuments than any human citizen. Tourists flock to the sacred archaeological dig not to ponder the brutal betrayal that ended the Roman Republic, but to take blurry photos of a grumpy orange tabby sleeping on a two-thousand-year-old marble pillar. It perfectly encapsulates modern tourism that the site of history's most famous political murder is now just a glorified litter box for hundreds of incredibly spoiled street cats
