What have the Romans ever done for us?

And the award for the funniest film ever made goes to… Monty Python's Life of Brian. Well, that's my pick. It's still every bit as comical, shocking and subversive as it was when it was released in 1979.

Although famous as a satire of religion, the film is also memorable for the fun it makes of revolutionaries. All the radicals in Life of Brian oppose the Roman occupation of Judea, but they never stop fighting among themselves. So, the People's Front of Judea hates the Judean People's Front, which hates the Judean Popular People's Front, which hates the Popular Front of Judea. In one of the film's best moments, Reg (John Cleese), the leader of the People's Front of Judea, describes the crimes of the Romans: "They've taken everything we had, and not just from us: from our fathers, and from our fathers' fathers." When his followers point out that the Romans might also have improved life in Jerusalem just a little, Reg says:

"All right, but apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the freshwater system and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?"

So, what else have the Romans given us? Great games and shows, I say. Think of how spectacular the Colosseum must have been in its glory days. The tradition continues, because the Eternal City will host the Champions League Final on 27 May. But first, it's having a birthday party. You see, la Città Eterna will be 2,762 years old on Tuesday and it's celebrating with an exhibition in the Piazza del Campidoglio called "Fair play in the history of Rome". I think I'll go.