Saturday, May 25, 2013

Exhibit of Argentine gauchos opens in Vatican - nostalgia for pope from the 'end of the earth'

http://a57.foxnews.com/global.fncstatic.com/static/managed/img/fn2/feeds/Associated%20Press/2013/05/17/660/371/943a7e8c8c221d10320f6a706700ce60.jpg?ve=1If Pope Francis is feeling a bit homesick these days, he need only go downstairs to St. Peter's Square.
 
The Vatican on Friday opened an exhibit on Argentine gauchos, the legendary horsemen of the pampas — a show that's been years in the works and coincidentally opened under the first Argentine pope.

Officials weren't sure when Francis might swing by "The Gaucho: Tradition, Art and Faith," which opened in an exhibition space underneath the piazza's colonnade. 

But if he goes, he'll find antique silver straws and mate gourds — containers for Argentina's traditional herbal tea — saddles and stirrups, ponchos, documents and a host of gaucho-inspired artwork.

The exhibit also highlights ties between Italy and Argentina, which received waves of Italian immigrants — Francis' ancestors included — over the years.