Pope Francis's Jubilee Year of Mercy has got off to a sluggish start, to the disappointment of Rome's hoteliers, restaurateurs and souvenir sellers. Far from being flooded with pilgrims, as the Italian authorities had anticipated, the streets around St Peter's basilica have been eerily quiet over the end-of-year holiday season, following attacks in France in November.
"There seems to be the same number of people about as this time last year," said one of the street traders in the Via della Conciliazione, who did not want to give his name. "But it is clear the crowds we were told to expect have not materialised."
The view from the street is confirmed by official figures from the Vatican, which revealed earlier this week that the number of people attending papal audiences were 30 percent down from the same time last year.
