Was in Rome on holiday last week and noticed at the drains and manhole covers all have SPQR stamped on them. I'm aware that it's the old motto of the Roman Republic but why is it still so prevalent millennia later? Is it just a tourism thing?
There's not that much to say about it. It's common for cities in Europe to have their coat of arms on manhole covers and such (e.g. Prague, Amsterdam, Malmö)
Rome's coat of arms has "+SPQR" on it. Its adoption only dates back to the late 19th century though. For much of the past 1000 years, Rome's symbol would be that of the current pontiff.
