I'm a bit surprised that the "people from modern Rome" only got an honorable mention. After all, Rome still sees itself as the successor of the Roman Empire. When first visiting it, I was surprised to see the famous SPQR (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPQR) acronym all over the place - on trash cans, manhole covers etc. etc.
when you see something histórical in Europe ask chatgpt if its something actually ancient that lasted until today or It was a xix century tourist marketing stunt made by the burgoisie
Senatus Populus ... Que Romani! The senate and people of Rome.
Italy, per se, is a modern construct but the capital is still Rome and I think it fair to draw associations to the old empire.
I love seeing the SPQR logo and I think it is a really useful link to the past.