When visiting Rome, you will see the letters SPQR almost everywhere. If you look around you will read them on manhole covers, menus, taxis, public buildings and many other places, to remind us of Rome's once-great strength as the capital of the empire.

But what do these letters mean? SPQR is the acronym for a Latin phrase - Senatus Populusque Romanus, meaning the "Senate and the People of Rome".

The words were symbolic of Rome's identity as a state belonging to the people and the Senate, whose members were selected by the Roman citizens. So important was the marking SPQR, that the very letters inspired foreign nations and protected Roman citizens from harm based on their affiliation with the great city.