Travel to Rome for the Conclave

Has anyone ever in the past, or plan to soon, to go to Rome/Vatican City for the Conclave of the new Pope? Just the atmosphere of the Vatican City as it is happening can be amazing I would think. I have never been to ANYWHERE Italy and wish I could be there as it is happening.

I've been to Rome and Vatican City many times(and elsewhere in Italy too). Imo it's a fantastic country with brilliant food.

Tourists can only visit a very small part of the Vatican: St Peter's and the square outside it, the Vatican Museums and...on an organised tour... part of the gardens.

Imo Rome's atmosphere is always special but, obviously,the city will be even more heaving with visitors than it usually is. I'd imagine that finding accommodation in the city for the funeral and/or for the forthcoming conclave (starts no earlier than 16 days and no later than 21 days after the Pope's death) will be pretty difficult by now.

I'm not Roman Catholic and I'm not good with crowds so I wouldn't be tempted to go.

Btw, the papal basilica the Pope chose for his burial...Santa Maria Maggiore...is one of my favourite Rome churches. It dates from the early 400s AD and is simply stunning.

While I wouldn't make the trip to be present during the Conclave period, I am watching the funeral service via live stream here in the U.S. (it is VERY early). Leics, another fan of Santa Maria Maggiore here; it is indeed a glorious church with a very long history. As well, my favorite sculptor is buried there.

I'm guessing that, as the Holy Father passed during Jubilee, Rome is even more crowded right now. It also looks like plainclothes security is everywhere in the square.

[ Edit: Edited on 26 Apr 2025, 08:30 GMT by goodfish ]

Side comment? The 14 pallbearers looked like they were struggling. Not walking in lockstep, and some of them looked absolutely pained and a bit unstable, like the weight was too much for them to manage. Gosh, although zinc lined, because it was a singular coffin versus the traditional nested cypress+ lead+ elm, it probably wasn't even close to the weight of Francis' deceased predecessors' caskets.

We didn't get to see enough of SM Maggiore but I guess I wasn't surprised.

[ Edit: Edited on 26 Apr 2025, 21:40 GMT by goodfish ]

My daughter the pilot was in Rome recently (like a month or so ago) and she went to see St. Peters and suddenly realized because of all the security that there was something going on, so she extracted herself. She will be there again in about 10 days - she's currently in New Delhi and she has another trip there before her next Rome trip

Yes, I'm