St Peter's Square: On public noticeboards around Rome, the city fathers have erected large posters of Pope John Paul II, superimposed with the word "Grazie" and underneath, the message "Rome weeps and salutes its Pope".
Yesterday, Italians were converging on St Peter's Square, not so much to weep but to be close.
The weeping stage is almost over. As Tomás Ó Gorman from Newry put it: "On Sunday, everyone was sad, you could have cried yourself.
"Today, we're letting him go. It's like people have crossed a hurdle..."
What is surprising still is how young the gathering is. The majestic square echoes to the sounds of exuberant youth singing out upbeat songs of hope and joy, often accompanied by vibrant, little dance routines and renewing old acquaintances from the joyous Jubilee mass gatherings of five years ago, with their beloved Giovanni Paolo.
Daniela, an 18-year-old who travelled to the city with a group from Cassino, about 200km away, notes the "strange atmosphere, with all the people singing and full of joy. But the Pope was very near to the young generation so they have come to say thanks for all that he did.
"We are singing a happy song for Giovanni Paolo because we sang it for him five years ago and we are happy because we are near him now".
Another group of 20 somethings who travelled from Palermo, are stretched out beside a large handmade poster that reads "Thank you for all that you taught to us, for the faith you have placed in us, and for leading us to holiness, hand in hand. Now we must carry on!"
Fabiana, a 21-year-old with a ring through her nose, says that the Pope "taught us love, hope, peace . . . He brought people together. We have come here to be near, because of our great love for him".
Last night, they slept out in the square, in their sleeping bags, as they have done since Saturday. None of these is your average orthodox Roman Catholic. Most don't go to Sunday Mass, for example. "I love the Pope but I am a, how-you-say-it, a so-so Catholic," says 25-year-old Adriano. "Many people are here not for the Pope but for the man that he was."
At the obelisk at the centre of the square, candles flicker in the breeze and the long, loving notes addressed to "Caro Papa" regularly flutter away until picked up and replaced by onlookers. "Our guardian of the morning, We are here to adore", reads one banner, covered with hundreds of signatures.
"Forever, like the stars exist, think on it, you will be loved", reads another. A young man in a business suit steps up with a folded note and places it beneath a candle. As he backs away, he wipes away tears from under his glasses. Roses and freesias, daffodils and lilies wilt in the Roman sun, alongside little posies of buttercups and gorse. Jonathan Baker, a 29-year-old American, is standing in sombre mood beside his Italian fiancee. "My parents are Polish so it's a little bit personal."
Like so many others, he came here "to be close . . . the next Pope will have a lot to live up to".
Nicoletta, an 18-year-old Romanian now living in Rome, says that he "was special . . . He did great things for humanity. He made them take away the Berlin Wall".
Four young Americans from Washington DC and Virginia, recalled that he "physically reached out to young people . . . We love him for that.
"He never tried to change the faith to get the youth to come. He made the true faith appealing to them". Natalie remarks that her mother, who was Jewish, converted "because of this Pope".
And still they waited, after the long wait to see their Pope's body carried into the Basilica, they would wait some more to be allowed to see it one more time. It was dark last night before they finally climbed the steps to see the man many called their "Father".
Tony Fontes, a Portugeuse engineer working in Rome, was enduring the long wait for his parents sake. "They asked me to represent them here. I'm not a Catholic who goes to church often, but my parents do. I admired John Paul. He talked about things that many people were saying but not doing, like encouraging them to look after those who are not as fortunate as we are and going to those places to give hope to them. I wish half of our leaders had the same sort of approach as he had . . . I'm here for myself too because I just want to say thank you to him. It was a life well spent."