Explanation: When the awareness of the GLORY of ROME was reawakened in the Renaissance, conscience imitations of the Roman Empire by polities became common. However, as the rationalist impetus of the Enlightenment began to eclipse the cultural and material achievements of the Roman Empire, this began to fall by the wayside.

… only for the mass-idolization of the Roman Empire to be revived by right-wing nationalists in the early 20th century, who could then perceive the Roman Empire not simply as a time of cultural refinement and material marvels, but as a time of centralized and chauvinist rule over a geographically vast polity, three qualities which the dominant cultural currents had increasingly rejected in the late 19th and 20th century. Fascists, unfortunately, still attempt to appropriate Roman iconography, once common across all political leanings, to this day. It’s a near-guarantee that major political figures invoking the Roman Empire are far-right cretins, and the success of creatures like that never bodes well for a nation’s future.

… we love Rome here, but not more than we love modernity and democracy. Rome was great insofar as it was better than its contemporary peers - Rome is not great in comparison to nearly any modern country.