CINCINNATI — The Capitoline Wolf statue, hacked off at the paws and stolen in June 2022, will soon stand tall in Eden Park once again, according to Cincinnati Parks.
The famous statue's replacement will be on display next month.
In November 2022, Cincinnati Parks announced it would partner with the Order of the Sons & Daughters of Italy's Cincinnati chapter to replace the Capitoline Wolf. The Sons & Daughters of Italy, an organization that's been in Cincinnati for more than 100 years, helped to oversee the installation of the original statue, a spokesperson with Cincinnati Parks said.
The she-wolf was a gift from Rome and Benito Mussolini in 1931. It was a replica of the Capitoline Wolf found in the Capitoline Museum in Rome.
Cincinnati Parks called the replacement project a "tremendous effort."
On Friday, November 3, the city will hold a rededication ceremony at Twin Lakes in Eden Park.
The brief ceremony will start at 10 a.m. Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Kearney, The Cincinnati Park Board, Cincinnati Parks Foundation and The Sons and Daughters of Italy will all be in attendance, according to a press release.
Cincinnati Parks said after the Capitoline Wolf returns to her throne, extra security enhancements will be added to discourage future thefts of the bronze statue.
Despite a $50,000 reward offered for any information that could have led to the safe recovery of the stolen statue, no one came forward and the thieves remain unidentified.
The statue was at the center of some controversy in 2020 when then-Cincinnati council member Chris Seelbach tweeted that he wanted the she-wolf and her mythological sons removed because of the statue's connection to Mussolini. The statue was given before the U.S. became involved in World War II and was gifted to Cincinnati specifically because the city is named after Roman dictator Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus.
Seelbach later changed his mind, tweeting he would not introduce legislation to have the statue removed and it was ultimately left in its place until its theft.
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