SPQR: Piazza Iside

SPQR on a fountain in Piazza Iside, a site that was once part of a sanctuary to the Egyptian goddess Isis. The cult came to Ancient Rome with Greek sailors and Egyptian immigrants and was popular with women and working classes, including slaves. You can see the ruins of the sanctuary behind the fountain, on the slopes of the Esquiline Hill, near the Colosseum.

SPQR are the first letters of the words in the Latin phrase Senatus Populusque Romanus, "The Senate and the People of Rome." It originally referred to the government of the ancient Roman Republic, and used as an official signature of the government, appearing on coins, civic inscriptions, and on the standards of the Roman legions. SPQR is the motto of the city of Rome and appears in the city's coat of arms, the city's civic buildings, manhole covers, billboards and fountains.