On what seemed like an ordinary day at the Vatican, tourists began to gather by the columns in St. Peter's Square as something grabbed their attention.
It was this cat, trapped along the ledge of Bernini's colonnade, some 52-feet high.
The Vatican fire brigade came on to the scene to launch a fully-fledged rescue operation.
Using cranes they approached the ledge to get closer to the cat.
They tried to keep it calm...and this fireman misses a chance to catch it.
It quickly became clear that this would not be an easy rescue.
The cat then began wandering freely along the ledge overlooking St. Peter's Square.
As the firefighters regrouped, many tourists pass by to see what all the commotion is about.
'It's a bit surprising to see a cat on a ledge and not know where it entered or how it will come out, to me it is very curious.'
'I have had cats and I don't know if they have nine lives, but at least two or three.'
The firefighters tried to catch the cat once again, this time with two cranes and a cardboard box.
'You could see that he was scared, but they did everything, to get that poor cat down, they brought two cranes, a bunch of policemen, and in the end it was what I had predicted: that when they went up there the cat ran away, the cat ran and didn't let them catch him.'
After nearly two hours the cat jumped from the ledge, and landed safely on the ground before being retrieved by firefighters.
It may continue to wander around Rome's other tourist attractions, but it surely won't find a more scenic home than overlooking the Vatican.
SO-BA
TR: JM
AA
