Rome has an estimated 300,000 stray cats living in 400+ legally recognized colonies. Italian law (L. 281/1991) protects colonie feline — cats living in established colonies cannot be removed, relocated, or harmed. The cats of Torre Argentina (200 cats among the temples where Caesar was assassinated) are cared for by volunteers and have become a tourist attraction equal to the ruins themselves. Rome has been a cat city since the Roman Republic — when cats were sacred to the goddess Diana.
Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary (Largo di Torre Argentina — 200+ cats among 4 Republican temples). Run by volunteers since 1993. Visit: Descend the stairs near the bus stops to the sanctuary level. Free. Adopt a cat (international adoption program). Buy a "I ♥ Roman Cats" souvenir (funds the sanctuary). The Colosseum cats: A small colony lives in and around the Colosseum — look for them sunning on ancient stones. The Pyramid cats: A colony lives at the Cestia Pyramid (Piramide metro) in the Protestant Cemetery — Keats and Shelley are buried here, guarded by cats. The Forum cats: Several colonies in the Roman Forum/Palatine area — they have been living in the ruins for 2,000 years.
Ancient Rome: Cats arrived from Egypt (via Greek and Phoenician traders) around the 4th century BC. They were associated with the goddess Diana (huntress) and Libertas (freedom — because cats cannot be domesticated, only tolerated). Medieval Rome: Cats survived the Church's suspicion of them (associated with witchcraft in Northern Europe) because Rome's climate + grain stores made rat-catching essential. The gattare: Roman cat ladies — typically elderly women who feed and care for specific colonies. They are a CULTURAL INSTITUTION. Mess with a gattara's cats and you've made an enemy for life.