Beware the Ides of March

Today is the Ides of March, the day that Julius Caesar was assassinated on the floor of the Senate Hall.  The location is believed to be in what are now the ruins of Largo Argentina, fondly known as the cat sanctuary for all the strays that live there.  I happened to be walking by and saw a crowd of people gathered and so I thought I would see what was going on.  A bunch of actors dressed up as Roman Senators, noblewomen, and Centurions were gathered in the area waiting to begin a reenactment of Caesar's death. 

Sometimes you are just in the right place at the right time.  This might be my favorite picture of my entire time in Rome.

Pope Watch 2013 part 2

Well, that was quick.  Not long after I posted my last blog I heard bells ringing outside my apartment (more than usual), and sure enough, a quick check of the internet revealed that there had been white smoke. 

I made it to the piazza in plenty of time, and found a pretty good spot to stand, although I was outside of the piazza proper.  About a half hour after I got there Francesco I, as the Italians call him, came out and made his address.  I'm glad I rushed over and witnessed this, but to be honest, it wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be.  Perhaps because it was night, cold, and rainy, and that dampened (ha! puns!) the mood a bit.  Also, because my main priority of spotting celebrity newscasters was a complete failure.  :(

Running with others along Via della Conciliazione towards the church

 

 My first spot, not so great

 Second spot, with much more room

Papa Francesco's first address to the crowd

 I have to say, for me it was more exciting to see every single window of the facade lit up.  (The facade is always illuminated at night, but only the exterior.)  Also, the appearance of a new pope is the only time the central balcony is used, and so from an architectural perspective I was happy to see this.  I also loved all the little cardinals lined up in the flanking windows.

The view in front of me

 The view behind me.  Put down your phones people!  Experience things in life, not through a lens!

 
My final attempt to get close to the newscasters.  Fail.  I later heard Anderson Cooper was near the obelisk.  Ugh.

Pope Watch 2013

Yesterday conclave officially started, with one vote in the evening.  Since nobody expected a new pope to be elected in just one vote I didn't bother making my way over to St. Peter's.  But this morning I met up with Jasmine, Nick, and Ben to wait for some smoke.

Apparently there are four votes a day, and black smoke (meaning no pope yet) will be released after two negative votes, at noon and 7pm daily.  White smoke (meaning pope!) can be released at any time.  This makes things a bit tricky, as I don't live near the Vatican, but I plan on returning tomorrow and hanging out for a while.  Hopefully he's not elected tonight!

Even if I don't see the white smoke itself, they say that as soon as it's released it takes about 45 minutes for the new pope to emerge and give his first blessing from the façade of the church.  Depending on where I am in the city, I may try to run over to see things.  Also, all the church bells in the city are supposed to ring, so that will be fun to hear.

I'll continue to keep you posted!

The piazza was crowded, but not as much as I expected.  Probably because it's still early in the voting, and also the rain.

Black smoke from the Sistine Chapel

 Also available for viewing on the big screen

With Nick, Jasmine, and Ben

I want to catch a glimpse of some newscasters, but I think this is as close as I can get :(