Some popes have had bridges named after them. Others have been remembered in the names of streets or piazzas. But to commemorate the passing of John Paul II, known for his travels, the city of Rome has settled on a more modern concept.
In the next year, the largest train station in Rome -- the bustling, slightly seedy Stazione Termini -- will most likely be renamed Pope John Paul II Station, Mayor Walter Veltroni announced on Monday.
But to some of the thousands of Italians who waited on Termini's platforms on Monday, it seemed a curious, even dubious, honor.
"I don't know what to think," said Franco Corona as he scanned slowly from the tracks, to the steel and glass ceiling, to the fast food outlets that fill the cavernous space.
"Perhaps they could have remembered him in another way, say with a street or a hospital," Corona said.
Francesco Rosati, a retiree from here, said, "They want to change the name to John Paul?" He waited to digest the news, then added, "The figure of the Pope is not very relevant to a train station, is it?"
John Paul will get a piazza, too, and presumably many other honors. The mayor also announced that the Piazzale di Tor Vergata, which was center stage for a huge youth rally in the Roman Catholic Church's Jubilee in 2000, would also be renamed for him.
But the Stazione Termini, a vast complex with a train station on top and a shopping mall underneath, would almost certainly be the largest memorial monument to the Pope, if not the most elegant.
Called on Monday for comment, the Vatican secretary of state's office said: "We don't know anything about it."
Officials in Veltroni's office acknowledged that the new pope would have to be consulted before the proposal could be carried out, although they expressed confidence that he would see the city's logic.
"Surely they will be in agreement though, I think," said Paolo Soldini, of the mayor's press office.
"There is great affection this city has for the Pope, and the choice of the train station is also symbolic," he said.
"This Pope loved to travel, he was open to new people. The station is a place for meeting between different ethnicities and cultures," Soldini said.
Stazione Termini, in downtown Rome, was regarded as a slightly dirty, somewhat dangerous home to pickpockets and the homeless, akin to New York's Port Authority. But the station had a face-lift for the Jubilee.
Still, is it suited to carry the name of a pope? Some travelers applauded the proposal. But secular groups here attacked it as the last straw in a week when all of Rome -- never overly religious -- seemed overrun by expressions of faith.
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