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Capitoline Wolf, Chișinău

Capitoline Wolf, Chișinău is a monument in the center of Moldova’s capital, placed before the National Museum of History of Moldova. It was first installed on 20 September 1926 as a gift from the city of Rome, commemorating the union of Bessarabia with Romania in 1918. A new copy was given by Romania in 1990 and installed on 1 December 1990 at the museum building, where it remains associated with the site. The bronze statue was removed for restoration in April 2005, later kept in the basement of the National Museum of History, and reopened on 1 December 2009. Its history is closely linked to changing political events in Chișinău during the 20th century.

Capitoline Wolf sculpture with Romulus and Remus on a tall red-stone pedestal in an urban square.
The Capitoline Wolf monument stands on a red-stone pedestal in an open city square.
October 2021 © · CC0
Capitoline Wolf sculpture on a stone pedestal in front of a grand building with steps and evergreen trees.
The Capitoline Wolf monument stands on a pedestal before a large building, framed by tall evergreens and stone steps.
March 2024 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Capitoline Wolf statue on a tall pedestal in front of a classical museum building
The Capitoline Wolf stands on a pedestal outside the Museum of Archaeology and History in Chișinău.
July 2012 © · CC BY 2.0
Capitoline Wolf monument on a tiered stone pedestal in front of a large historic building
The Capitoline Wolf stands on a stone pedestal in front of the Sfatul Țării Palace.
© Unknown authorUnknown author · CC BY 3.0
The grand facade of the National Museum of History of Moldova in Chisinau.
The National Museum of History of Moldova in Chisinau, shown with its grand front facade.
June 2009 © · Public domain

Identification

Typemonument / sculpture
TitleCapitoline Wolf in Chișinău

Historical context

SubjectThe Capitoline Wolf, a copy of the Capitoline Wolf statue, with Romulus and Remus implied as part of the motif
DedicationIn memory of the unification of Bessarabia with Romania in 1918
Gift contextOne of five copies of the Capitoline Wolf donated by the Kingdom of Italy and the municipality of Rome to Romania in the early 20th century as a tribute to the Latin origin of the Romanian people

Creator

Donor of the copy in ChișinăuRome

Discovery and provenance

Current installation date1 December 1990
Other donated copiesBucharest (1906), Cluj-Napoca (1921), Târgu Mureș (1924), and Timișoara (1926)
Donor of the 1990 copyRomania
Later copies made in RomaniaAdditional copies were made from these statues and installed in towns and villages including Alba Iulia, Blaj, Brad, Brașov, Constanța, Dej, Galați, Erenut, Luduș, Năsăud, Săcele, Satu Mare, Sighișoara, Târgu Mureș, Târnăveni, Toplița, Turda, Zalău, Reghin, and Gherla; some localities are unnamed or omitted
Later installation site in ChișinăuIn front of the entrance to the National Museum of History of Moldova
First installation date in Chișinău1921
Original installation site in ChișinăuIn front of the building of the present-day Academy of Music, Theatre and Fine Arts, formerly Sfatul Țării Palace
Completion year of the Chișinău monument1923

Physical characteristics

Materialbronze

History and restoration

Removal for restorationApril 2005; the bronze statue was removed from its pedestal and sent for restoration
Reopening date1 December 2009
Restoration statusUnder restoration from 2005 to 2009
Storage during restorationStayed at the tractor factory, then was transferred for safekeeping to the basement of the National Museum of History of Moldova
1942 exhibition locationThe City Garden of Chișinău
Fate after 24 August 1944After the Red Army liberated Chișinău during the Iași–Chișinău Operation, the traces of the monument were lost; its location and fate remain unknown
1942 exhibition displayPlaced at the main entrance to the exhibition in the park on a new tall pedestal in the form of a column
Role in 1942 exhibitionOne of the central elements of the 'Exhibition of Liberation' organized by Romanian authorities
Alternative evidence about 1940 fateTestimonies and photographs suggest the monument was not destroyed; a photograph of Italian journalists next to it was published in Basarabia, no. 329, 3 August 1942
Believed fate in 1940It was long believed that the original 1923 monument was destroyed and melted down by Soviet troops in 1940 at the start of the annexation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the USSR

Location and ownership

Current locationBasement of the National Museum of History of Moldova

Significance

Depicted on a stampFeatured on a 1992 stamp of Moldova