Unlike most countries around the world, in Italy the unlucky number is 17, not 13. This superstition has a story that traces back to ancient Rome, and refers to 2 specifical facts:
- The number 17 in Roman numbers is written as XVII (X=10 + V=5 + I=1 + I=1, Total = 17). Mixing up the letters, the only Latin word that can be formed is: VIXI, perfect tense of the verb VIVO (to live), which means "I used to live" and thus "I'm dead".
- 17th Legion of the Roman Army was totally destroyed during the disastrous defeat suffered by the Romans in 9 AD in the German woods near the town of Teutoburg. The legion, at the command of the Consul Quintilius Varus was ambushed by the local troops, and, overpowered by the enemy, caught by surprise and stuck in the muddy soil, was exterminated to the last man. The defeat had such a great effect on Roman people that Legion no. 17 was never reformed, and number 17 became an infamous number, and it stayed as a symbol of bad omen.
The bad luck reputation of number 17 survived until today, to the point that in many contexts in Italy no.17 is skipped (or replaced by 16/B), and even on Alitalia flights, there is no row 17.
- The number 17 in Roman numbers is written as XVII (X=10 + V=5 + I=1 + I=1, Total = 17). Mixing up the letters, the only Latin word that can be formed is: VIXI, perfect tense of the verb VIVO (to live), which means "I used to live" and thus "I'm dead".
- 17th Legion of the Roman Army was totally destroyed during the disastrous defeat suffered by the Romans in 9 AD in the German woods near the town of Teutoburg. The legion, at the command of the Consul Quintilius Varus was ambushed by the local troops, and, overpowered by the enemy, caught by surprise and stuck in the muddy soil, was exterminated to the last man. The defeat had such a great effect on Roman people that Legion no. 17 was never reformed, and number 17 became an infamous number, and it stayed as a symbol of bad omen.
The bad luck reputation of number 17 survived until today, to the point that in many contexts in Italy no.17 is skipped (or replaced by 16/B), and even on Alitalia flights, there is no row 17.
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