Il Papa!

You never know who you are going to meet in a strange city. When I planned this trip, I had no idea that The Pope would be visiting Naples at the same time. I do admire Pope Leo as he has chosen to stand up for peace and justice, often in the face of criticism. Being offered the opportunity to hear him speak live was an opportunity we could not pass up. We were too late to purchase tickets to the seats in Piazza Plebiscito but we could crowd in along the edges with the locals.

The sky overhead was a cerulean blue as we waited through the speeches of various church and political dignitaries. On our phone screens, we could see The Pope occasionally smiling. I discussed his demeanour with the friendly woman standing next to me who was making use of the YouTube feed of the event on my phone. Saying that he looked bored in my clumsy Italian, she corrected me with ‘stanco’ - tired, never bored! Pope Leo was gifted with one of the city’s famous Nativity scenes, a piece far more attractive than the crystal football someone recently gave him.

The crowd was jovial and there was no pushing or shoving as I had feared. In fact, there was a party atmosphere. When some entertainers began singing, people around laughed and a few joined in. A band performed O Solo Mio, Naples’ song and the audience listened with rapt appreciation. The police and carabinieri strolled about unconcerned. One even took Mark’s phone and filmed a bit of the drama close up for us. The Pope was the final act, of course, and he spoke of the beauty of Naples and its people and encouraged everyone to remember the poor and prepare a positive future for the young. He said a lot more but my Italian is limited. (Actually, I just looked up the gist of his speech and I got most of it!)

After The Pope, we wandered the city with the rest of the celebratory crowd (the day had been declared a holiday in Naples). Stopping for ice cream we sat under a fading sky while house martins wheeled over head, calling to each other in high-pitched voices. Earlier in the day, we had trekked to Bagnoli via the metro (a fabulous, clean, low-cost transport service). The suburb of Bagnolia is calm and quiet compared to central Naples, with tree lined streets and children playing along the walkways. We chose to take a dusty road to Isola di Nisida, just outside the suburb, hoping to explore the island and have a swim there. Alas, it was closed to civilians. Instead, we hopped over the causeway wall to find a tiny, black sand beach. While not the tidiest of havens, the water seemed clean enough to we dipped in the sea. It was refreshing after our trek and gave us the energy to traipse back to the train station, stopping for gelato along the way.

A day to be remembered, for many reasons.