The Roman Republic

SPQR. These are four letters you'll find all over Rome, from sewer grates and public billboards to monuments and buildings. They are the Latin initials for "Senatus Populusque Romanus." English, please? That translates to "The Senate and Roman People."

This marking comes from the ancient Roman Republic. Romans believed that authority comes from the people. Benito Mussolini emblazoned the initials on manhole covers during his regime in order to promote his dictatorship with the "New Roman Empire."

SPQR is a reminder that some type of public work has been given by the government in the name of the people. I like thi

s idea because we often find ourselves so caught up in complaining about what the government is NOT doing for us, that we forget what it IS doing or has already done. Of course no government is perfect, and Italy's is no exception.