Pilgrim OAP Sets SatNav To Rome But Ends Up In Germany

An 81-year-old travelling from his home in Newcastle to Rome in Italy where he hoped to see the Pope ended up in Germany after blindly following his navigation system.

The OAP, who is originally from Italy but who lives in Newcastle, decided to make a pilgrimage to Rome to see the Pope, but mistakenly entered the details for the district of Rom, part of a small rural community in the western German state of North Rhine Westphalia rather than the rather more famous Italian capital of Rome.

After the navigation system insisted he had arrived safely, the confused OAP climbed out of his vehicle, possibly to try and see some of the landmarks that should have been clearly visible, such as the Colosseum or The Sistine Chapel, but he forgot to put on the handbrake.

Credit: CEN
The Rom street sign

As a result, his Jaguar rolled away and in an ironic twist, it ended up travelling backwards and knocking down the sign for Rom resulting in the police being called to investigate. 

Police spokesman Monika Treutler said: “The man was on a pilgrimage. He was on his way to Rome, where he was hoping to visit the Pope.”

She added that the man, who has not been named, realised something was wrong when he could not see any of the landmarks he was expecting, given that he was supposed to be in Rome.

The Italian man might have been confused by the fact that Rome is written Roma in Italian and Rom in German.

Police said that the car had come to a halt after hitting the sign but did not appear to be seriously damaged although an ambulance was called to check on the pensioner.


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Story By: Michael LeidigSub-EditorJoseph Golder, Agency: Central European News

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