When Rocky meets the Vatican, the applause meter of the heart and of pop culture inevitably goes off.
Yes, you read that right: Sylvester Stallone, the eternal screen boxer and lone warrior, made a stop in Italy for two events that seem to come out of a Hollywood script but which, in reality, talk about roots and spirituality.
How did the audience with the Pope go?
Picture the scene: Sylvester Stallone, the muscular icon who defined an era, walks through the halls of the Vatican. And then, the twist. Not a ring, but a papal audience.
Papa Francesco, the 'pop' pontiff, welcomes Stallone and his family as if they were old family friends. And in a certain sense they are, at least spiritually and culturally. An encounter that almost feels like a film in itself, complete with memorable dialogue.
The exchange of words between the pontiff and Stallone
If we could give this episode a title, it would probably be something like “When Rocky Met Francesco”. The exchange was worthy of an Oscar scene.
Papa Francesco greet the star with
“We grew up with your films”
Papa Francesco
Stallone, never outdone when it comes to withering replies, responds:
“Ready… shall we box?”
Sylvester Stallone
A dialogue that would have made any screenwriter happy and which shows how two apparently distant worlds can intersect and create magic.
Honorary citizenship in Gioia del Colle goes to Sylvester Stallone and his brother
But Stallone's Italian odyssey doesn't end here. He moves into the 'heel of the boot', precisely in Gioia del Colle, where he received honorary citizenship.
And it is no small event: it is a homecoming, a closing circle. Stallone is not just an American hero, he is a son of Puglia, a land of resilience and passion.
The Governor of Puglia, Michele Emiliano, celebrated Stallone's uniqueness as an icon who used the big screen to tell universal stories, stories that also and above all talk about the beating heart of Puglia and the whole of Italy.
The people of Puglia welcomed the star screaming “Rocky, Rocky!"
