Twin earthquakes rocked central Italy on October 26, 2016 — the second registering at a magnitude of 6.0 — in the same region struck in August by a devastating tremor that killed nearly 300 people. The quakes were felt in the capital Rome, sending residents running out of their houses and into the streets.
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Rome’s new convention center is named “The cloud” (“La Nuvola” in Italian) and designed by Italian architect Massimiliano Fuksas.
People take part in a battle of colors during the “Roma Colours” event on June 29, 2016 in Rome.
Pope Francis pushed open the great bronze doors of St. Peter’s Basilica on Tuesday to launch his Holy Year of Mercy, declaring that mercy trumps moralizing in his Catholic Church.
Francis stood in prayer on the threshold of the basilica’s Holy Door then walked through it, the first of an estimated 10 million faithful who will pass through over the course of the next year in a rite of pilgrimage dating back centuries.
A thin and frail Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI walked through the doorway right after Francis, gingerly negotiating the two steps with the help of a cane and his longtime assistant. It was a rare outing for the 88-year-old Benedict, whose historic resignation led to Francis’ election and a papacy dedicated to showing the merciful side of the church.
Some 5,000 extra police, carabinieri and soldiers have been deployed around Rome, and a no-fly zone imposed on its skies, to protect the pilgrims who are flocking to Rome on foot, by car, train and plane to participate in the yearlong celebration.
Rome’s Trevi Fountain will gush its emerald waters once again after a clean-up funded by Italian fashion house Fendi. Crowds of frustrated tourists have spent months peeking at bits of the monument from a special walkway put in over the fountain while repairs were carried out to the tune of over $2.2 million.
The day in photos from around the world.
Wildfires prompt the evacuation of hundreds of homes in California, novice monks learn what it’s like to live as Buddhist priests in South Korea, trickdogs perform for the ‘dog and pet’ fair in Germany and more in today’s daily brief.
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After meeting to discuss issues, the Catholic Church’s cardinals gather in the Sistine Chapel on Tuesday afternoon to elect a new pope. Meanwhile, near the Pantheon in Rome, the tailors at Gammarelli will make preparations of their own.
For 200 years, the ecclesiastical tailors have been creating garb for bishops, cardinals, pontiffs and priests. As Catholics await the announcement of the Vatican’s next leader, Gammarelli is expected to be already creating papal garb — in small, medium and large sizes so whoever is chosen will get the right fit.
Masses of pilgrims queued to enter St. Peter’s Square to hear Pope Benedict XVI’s final weekly public audience in Vatican City, Vatican on Wednesday. The Pontiff attended his last weekly public audience before stepping down tomorrow. The weekly event, which would normally be held in a vast auditorium in winter, was moved outdoors to St. Peter’s Square so more people can attend. Pope Benedict XVI had been the leader of the Catholic Church for eight years and is the first Pope to retire since 1415. He cites ailing health as his reason for retirement and will spend the rest of his life in solitude away from public engagements.
Devoties of Jesus and exercise take cold plunges, the annual Green Week agricultural fair of food stuffs and agricultural products begins in Berlin, dancers compete to be royalty for this year’s Carnival in Sao Paulo, the Grande Odyssee dog sledding race continues and more in today’s daily brief.
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