Not every one of Rovigo’s extraordinary stories has centuries behind it. This one began only recently, and its hero is a cat.
He came from far away. A volunteer had rescued him from the streets in Bosnia and brought him to Italy. In Rovigo, around 2013, he found a home with a family on Via Celio. But one home alone, evidently, was not enough for him.
The cat, red as rust, began to wander the historic centre like any other citizen. He walked into banks, professional offices, even the law courts. He stopped at bars. He slept in shop windows and under the arcades. He would come when called, let himself be picked up for a moment, then set off again on his round.
The people of Rovigo called him Rossini. For the colour of his fur, according to some reports. In homage to the composer Gioachino Rossini, according to others. Perhaps, for a city, the two need not rule each other out.
He became a fixture. He was seen at the 25 April Liberation Day ceremonies and at literary festivals. He was photographed at the Gran Guardia, at the Accademia dei Concordi, even in the Christmas nativity scenes. On social media someone elected him ‘honorary mayor’, and his page passed 17,000 followers.
There was no shortage of mischief. At the town hall, the papers recall, he left a rather ignoble souvenir on the piano nobile itself, the grandest floor, and the staff had to throw open every window. He was forgiven, of course.
In 2017 his face appeared on the poster for the Ottobre Rodigino, the city’s October festival. Since then he has become almost a logo for the city.
On the morning of 14 February 2026, shortly before eight, Rossini was hit by a car on Via Celio. The driver stopped at once and called for help.
Within a few hours, under the arcades where the cat used to sleep, a spontaneous shrine appeared. Flowers, balloons, children’s drawings. And a sign: ‘Here slept Rossini, a small great symbol of the city of Rovigo’.
Then the city dedicated a concert in the square to him, a mural and, according to the local press, a statue.
It is a small story, seen from a distance. Up close it tells much more: a community that sees itself in a stray cat from far away, and decides to adopt him all together. Walking under the arcades today, you still find yourself looking for a patch of ginger asleep in a shop window.
