Pilgrims in search of a perfect Papal selfie

I HAVE just come back from two blissful weeks in Italy, where we trailed around Rome, Umbria and Tuscany, drank too much wine and ate an obscene amount of pasta. It was wonderful.

But standing on the steps of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, looking out over the square one afternoon, my other half and I were startled when between our heads an arm suddenly shot out, snapped a picture of the view on a phone, and briskly moved on.

As I looked at the tourist’s retreating back I wondered just what they would remember about this moment when they looked back at the picture. Did they soak in the atmosphere? Appreciate the stunning architecture? I doubt it. The whole thing was over in approximately two seconds flat, a shot to be scrolled past amongst dozens of others, their suitability for social media posts the only important criterion.

Yet travelling around Italy we saw the same thing again and again. Tourists – usually under the age of 35 – rushing up to a monument, taking a snap or posing into the camera, then rushing off again without stopping to actually absorb and appreciate where they were.

Most jarring was our trip to the Papal Audience in the Vatican where, in an atmosphere where we expected peace and reverence, we watched hundreds of pilgrims clamber over chairs and, at times, each other, in order to get a picture with the man in white, above, the air a sea of competing selfie sticks.

Is it really that important? Yes, they’ll have great pictures. But what about the memories?