If you thought the camauro was crazy, you'll love what the Pope is wearing today!

It's not everyday the Pope makes the Reuters Oddly-Enough section:

Holy Saturno! It's old hat for the pope again!

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict on Wednesday showed once more that he has a thing for old hats.

The Pope surprised tens of thousands of people gathered in St Peter's Square for his weekly general audience by wearing an unusual, wide-brimmed red hat when he rode in on his popemobile.

It was the first time the 79-year-old German pontiff wore the hat, known in Italian as a "saturno" because it is vaguely reminiscent of the ringed planet Saturn.

Pope John XXIII, who reigned from 1958 to 1963, used a saturno and John Paul II, who died last year, donned one occasionally during trips to hot countries.

It was not the first time Pope Benedict has worn a strange-looking hat at an outdoor audience to shield himself against the weather.

Last December, to keep warm against the bitter cold, he wore a red velvet cap, trimmed with white fur.

That hat, known as a "camauro," was commonly worn by popes in the mediaeval period to keep their heads warm on cold days and it featured on many paintings at the time. [source.]

Well, I guess the Pope realized he was going on a trip soon so it was time to try out some new clothes!

More on the cappello romano from wikipedia:

A cappello romano (literally Roman hat) is a hat with a wide, circular brim and a rounded rim worn by Catholic clergy. It is made of either beaver fur or felt, and lined in white silk. Unlike many other articles of ecclesiastical attire, it serves no ceremonial purpose, being primarily a practical item. (The galero is a ceremonial wide brim hat no longer worn.) The wearing of a cappello romano is optional, but it is never worn during services. It is generally uncommon outside of Rome today, though it was quite popular in other countries with a Catholic majority population from the 17th century until ca. 1970.

There are some, mostly minor, differences in the designs of cappelli, depending on the rank of the wearer. The pope wears a red cappello with gold cords. All other clerics wear black cappelli. A cardinal may have a cappello with red and gold cords with scarlet lining. A bishop's may have green and gold cords with violet lining. A priest may substitute black lining for his. Cappelli worn by deacons and seminarians have no distinguishing items.

.Sue. of the Papa Ratzinger forum found us more pictures of other Popes in Saturnos:

• Pius XII
• John XXIII
• John Paul II

Other people have noted that Pope Benedict is the first to bend the brim of the hat. They are calling it the "cowboy" style of saturno. :-)

Thanks to reader Patrick A. for the tip!