Pope Francis grew up listening to the opera on the radio, is a fan of Argentine tango and thinks Mozart "lifts you to God".
But it still came as something of a shock to see the 85-year-old pontiff coming out of a downtown Rome record shop one afternoon with a CD in hand. He had made an unannounced visit that was caught on camera by a Vatican reporter who happened to be nearby.
Javier Martinez-Brocal, director of the Rome Reports news agency, said he was in the neighbourhood of Rome's Pantheon when he noticed a white Fiat 500 with Vatican licence plates and some police cars parked in front of the Stereosound shop.
Francis had slipped inside and stayed for about 12 minutes, chatting with the owners, Martinez-Brocal reported.