A Triumph in Roma

Author: Hatch, M., (2008), “Dies Felix Natalis, Roma!”, first published in The Imperial Courier, Volume 3, Issue 4, THE RMRS, pp. 2-3, revised May 2024.

Sunday April 20th, 2008 dawned with a chill in the air about an hour after we awoke! The alarm had sounded at 5:30 am just so we had plenty of time to rendezvous with the hired minibus that would take us to the headquarters of Gruppo Storico Romano (GSR), our hosts for the birthday parade, on the Via Appia Antica. The group of fifteen staying at Flaminio Bungalow Village Park, North of the city centre, had elected to hire the minibus as the easiest and quickest method of crossing Rome. In the end it proved to be a wise decision.

Arriving at GSR's a little after 7 am, we finally met up with those members of THE RMRS who had made independent travel arrangements, and our re-enactor friends from Legio II Avg. The round of greetings was reasonably short lived as we were satisfyingly reunited with all our kit. Our worries had been unfounded as everything had arrived safely (less one person’s shield that the author forgot to load) and we set about getting polished and changed ready for the off.

The first hurdle could not have been more obvious. The parade was scheduled to form up in the Circus Maximus at 10 am but GSR's HQ was 1¼ miles South. Given that by this stage most of us were wearing armour, studded boots and carrying sharp, pointy things, no coach company in their right mind was going to agree to ferry us (and our kit) to the Circus. The alternative was 'Shank's Pony'. So, with Legio II Avg leading (to slow the speed of march because apparently the “men of the Fourteenth” move too fast for them!) we set off on a joint British/Dutch mini-parade Northwards on the Via Appia. With the temperature rising as the sun's ascended into a clear blue Roman sky, the ‘warm up’ for the main event got under way and set the scene for the rest of the day.

Having arrived in the Circus Maximus there was a fair bit of hanging around while trying to determine what was going on and where we were supposed to be. Eventually, as with most things of this sort, we found our starting place for a military pre-parade next to a ‘Leg XIIII’ from Poland. What followed was perhaps not as well scripted as it could have been, but such criticism ignores the multiple languages (and translations) required to co-ordinate things. Regardless, the pre-parade involved all military units completing a circuit of the Circus, which must have been a pretty impressive sight for those watching as nearly a full cohort of Roman soldiers marched past.

With the pre-parade element finished, the civilians from all groups re-united with their military counterparts. THE RMRS and Legio II Avg moved to our assigned position and awaited the off. Suffice to say that 1,000 re-enactors marching through the streets was very much a stop/start affair. Actually a lot of stopping, but it did give the thousands of people watching a chance to chat and take pictures. Our leader, Primus Pilus Tiberius Claudius Fatalis (Len Morgan), always seemed to have a young lady on each arm. To this day we still do not how he does it. Regardless, all the stopping would not have been so bad had it not been quite so unseasonably hot for April. Standing around in the sun on tarmac in hobnails is hard on the feet and does sap your energy. Imagine, then, how our legionary and auxiliary standard-bearers, Suavis (Mark Olejnik) and Peronis (Adrian Wink), were faring wearing heavy bearskins on top of all their other kit.

It must be said that without our ladies walking twice as far as we soldiers in search of water, then we would have struggled in the heat. Valuable lessons were learnt for next time: everyone should carry a waterskin or bottle, certainly do not dress for a British summer (layers of woollen clothes are a bad idea), and do not forget the sun block. Regardless, the act of parading through the Eternal City, our marching songs echoing off the Colosseum, was something difficult to describe. It was a unique and memorable experience. The spectators lining the route were clearly impressed judging by the applause we received.

We marched about halfway along the Via del Fori Imperali before reversing the route to finish back at the Circus Maximus; a march of about 2½ miles in total. Now was everyone’s chance to relax and cool down or, to be more precise, to collapse in sweaty heaps and seek any shade available. The sense of achievement should not be underestimated.  The grins on everyone’s faces said it all. As we recovered, however, it slowly dawned on us that we would have to walk back to the GSR’s HQ. Unsurprisingly, the motivation to move off was resisted for as long as possible. Delaying the inevitable was certainly aided by the provision of a packed lunch courtesy of GSR.

A huge debt of gratitude was owed to Gruppo Storico Romano who, at that time, were solely responsible for co-ordinating the parade part of Rome’s annual birthday celebration. They had gotten no significant support from the City’s tourist authorities and in the past have had to convince the City fathers that the parade was not some kind of celebration echoing the Mussolini era and convince the Vatican that it was not a ‘pagan’ festival. All things considered, gathering 1,000 re-enactors from across Europe in one place on one day, together with the closing of roads in Rome (no mean feat considering ‘manic’ Italian drivers!), and entertaining thousands of tourists who probably were not expecting to see such a spectacle, was no mean feat.

Eventually, however, we could put off the dreaded moment no longer.  Forming up behind Legio II Avg, we began the march back to GSR’ HQ. Tired feet plodded along the return, less enthusiastically and thus slightly slower than earlier in the day. Despite Miccinius’ (Steve Eckersley) attempt to escape by falling into a hole, everyone kept going no matter how uncomfortable they felt. In fact, as we turned the corner for the final few yards, and at Fatalis’ coercing, all raised their heads, straightened their backs, and marched proudly into GSR’s HQ. Spirits were certainly high, especially with the applause and salutations of the GSR members lining the drive who must have realised we had just marched all the way back in full kit.

While everyone’s memories will be slightly different, this was certainly an event worth experiencing at least once in a lifetime. THE RMRS’ reputation, and that of all British groups, was certainly upheld and demonstrated again how we are still the best show around. Most importantly, all who took part were rightly proud of completing the distance with heads held high. It did not matter how much you hurt or how tired you were - what a memory!

---