All visitors to Rome soon become aware that there is a community of Romanian gypsies and other immigrant populations who daily seek a living by either begging for money or selling all manner of black market goods on the streets. We first noticed this gentleman when we came to Rome in 2007. We were not aware of how much of a fixture in the neighbourhood he was, until our second visit in 2010. That visit we had an apartment that faced the street and we became aware that his "territory" was the traffic divider in the middle of the street in front of the apartment. Almost everyday, he would be there from about 7:30 or 8 in the morning, to around 3 or 4 in the afternoon. With breaks for lunch or coffee only, he would spend the day walking up and down the meridian, begging for coins from drivers as they approached and were stopped for the traffic light. You can not see it in the picture, but he walks with a cane and has a pronounced limp on his right side.
Around the area, there are other members of his community, doing their thing. Mostly women, either elderly, or young with babies and small children, are situated in front of churches and other religious places. Men and boys with obvious deformities or injuries are more likely to be stationed around store fronts and on sidewalks near subway entrances. We have not seen many of the groups of kids and young people that tourists are cautioned to be aware of that do the pickpocketing. There was only once that we saw something that may have been a ploy to distract and steal from tourists, at a crowded tourist venue, but I am not sure.
When this gentleman leaves for the day, or goes on his breaks, he is replaced by young men flogging cartons of cigarettes. There is clearly a hierarchy in place as to who gets what spot when.
Today though, something distinctly different was going on. He wasn't in his usual spot. In fact, we didn't think that he was around. Very unusual, he is a fixture. But, wait, there he is, in the square, across the street!!! Why the change today? And...... he is walking much slower and has a more pronounced limp. He looks like he must be suffering more today.
Then we noticed this........
Bus loads of people were being disgorged off of at least 15 buses - at an average of 40 people per bus - that was 600 people. And they were all on a pilgrimage. From the banners they were carrying, it appeared that it was some sort of homage to Our Lady of Lourdes. This was also born out by the fact that there seemed to be a lot of infirmed people and people in wheelchairs who were accompanied by what appeared to be nursing Nuns and caretaker/companions.
Pardon my cynicism, but, he had just hit the jackpot. He was still working the square at 5 o'clock. Much later than we have ever seen him. Normally, we do not often see him given much from the car drivers, but time after time we saw him receive monies from these individuals, blessing them after each gift. Another reason for the cynicism is that we often see him , when he is not "working", walking without his limp or using his cane - even running across the street. So, you see, his infirmity is not necessarily what it seems.
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