Alessandra Tarantino: Inside the Vatican
One of the most important jobs at the AP’s Rome office is covering the Pope. Alessandra Tarantino, a photographer based in Rome, joined AP in 2005 amidst the illness and death of John Paul II and has been photographing pontiffs ever since.
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Even though I have photographed different popes for many years, entering the Vatican, the smallest nation in the world, is always exciting. Sometimes it's like stepping into a time machine, where the landscapes have remained the same as they were 400 years ago when the Vatican was built.
But we shouldn’t be deceived by this apparent immutability because affairs at the Vatican, especially with Pope Francis, are modernizing and changing quickly.
Photographing at the Vatican involves two dimensions.
The masses and processions, rituals that have been repeated for decades, are always the same and usually produce the same kinds of images.
In St. Peter’s Basilica, despite our distance, we must be very careful not to make any noise. Even a small sound in the Basilica is amplified.
Every Sunday at midday, we cover the Angelus prayer, in which the Pope delivers a blessing from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square. This is a really long shot, the window is 200 meters away, and we need to use a 600-mm lens. Sunny days are unwelcome in this case, putting the Pope in the shade, except in the winter when the sun is low.
In this case, we look forward to Christmas, when we photograph the pope through the Christmas tree in the Square and with a nice golden light.
The second type of activity we cover can bring more surprises: the Wednesday public meetings at the Vatican with Pope Francis. Here, he seems like a different person from the one who performs religious functions.
Model: Sony ILCE-1| Lens: 400mm | F-Stop: 2.8 | Shutter Speed: 1/500 | ISO: 1000
Pope Francis talks with a 10-year-old boy Paolo Junior after he unexpectedly walked up to him at the beginning of a weekly general audience in the Pope Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Oct. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Recently, during the pope’s speech, a child managed to escape his mother’s control. When he reached the pope, he asked him for his skull cap.
At the end of the audience, the pope comes down from the stage and embraces the sick people, sitting in the front rows. He really goes close, he hugs, caresses, and has a word for everyone.
These are the most important yet difficult moments to photograph. Photographers -- who number about 30 on a typical Wednesday, are placed far away. The pope is surrounded by security, and by many other assistants. We have to try to find a chink between them.
Model: Sony ILCE-1| Lens: 221mm | F-Stop: 5.6 | Shutter Speed: 1/2500 | ISO: 640
Pope Francis holds roses as he presides over a ceremony on the occasion of All Souls Day, at French Military Cemetery on the occasion of All Souls Day, in Rome, Nov. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
When we travel the story is completely different. There are just a few photographers – say four or five on the same flight with the Pope and his entourage. We sit at the back of the plane, they sit at the front.
It is customary for him to come back and greet the journalists on the outward journey. He greets us each individually. He is always very nice and jovial.
During the trips, there are both masses and official events as well as moments when the pope meets people. Here again all the protocols go to the wind. That’s because these events are not orchestrated photo opportunities but spontaneous. We never know where the pope greeting migrants in a refugee camp will go – we must be quick and try to find a space. In this, Vatican security tries to help. Because we have known each other for years, they trust us and know how we work.
In Rome and on the road, the photographers have to find a way to get the shot.
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Produced by AP News staff. The sponsor was not involved in the creation of this content.