Just next to the Pantheon, sits this unassuming record shop in the center of Rome.
Yet among its clientele is the head of the Catholic Church.
Pope Francis surprised the shop with an impromptu visit to say hello to some old friends.
-'Holy Father!'
TIZIANA ESPOSITO
'He didn't come to buy any records. He just came to bless the store. He's been a customer of ours for a long time and he came to see us.'
Tiziana Esposito is the shop-owners' daughter. She says the Pope has been coming into their store since he was Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, and continued coming back as a cardinal during his trips to Rome.
TIZIANA ESPOSITO
'It was really exciting, I don't know how to describe it, to see the Pope set foot in the store was so powerful. It was so emotional, having seen him before and then seeing him now.'
The store sells records of all genres and ages, but over the years Pope Francis has remained loyal to his personal music taste.
TIZIANA ESPOSITO
'Just classical music, he listens to classical music. He's particularly passionate about opera and great vocalists.'
It seems Pope Francis' days of buying records are behind him, as the store-owners gave him a box of classical music CDs as a gift—a sign that even for a modern pope, you just can't beat the classics.
JM
