Digitalising the planning of major events

Waiting for the white smoke, the great organisational test of the funeral of Pope Francis now requires a quantum leap: digitising all phases of planning and management of extraordinary events, transforming the experience gained into a highly efficient training and simulation tool. However, the results achieved should not be considered a point of arrival. In order to consolidate and improve situations of equal complexity, experiences must be systematised, digitised and systemised. Only in this way will it be possible to make any future intervention more effective, quicker and safer, ensuring an increasingly integrated and coordinated response even in highly variable contexts.

Ad horas the next appointment is approaching: the new Pope's greeting to the Romans and the world, with his first mass at St. Peter's. The integration of new technologies and artificial intelligence can make health and civil protection systems faster, more accurate and more resilient.

The funeral on 26 April required an impressive medical apparatus, capable of withstanding unprecedented logistical pressure. Rome was divided into sensitive areas, manned 24 hours a day with Advanced Medical Posts, medical and nursing ambulances, and teams of foot rescue workers. A total of eighty day and fifteen night teams guaranteed coverage of the territory, including the most strategic railway and metro nodes.

The St. Peter's area was given top priority, with a set-up ready to handle even potential maxi-emergencies. Coordinating the entire set-up were doctors, nurses, rescuers, logistics operators, psychologists and cultural mediators, with the support of the Health Emergency Operations Centre of Roma Metropolitana. A specialist decontamination team was also present. Continuous interaction with the Prefecture, the Police Headquarters, the Jubilee Situation Room and the Civil Protection Department ensured that the scenarios were constantly updated.

The expansion of the city's hospital facilities, strongly desired by the President of the Region and prepared by the Regional Health Directorate, has also contributed to strengthening the system. This has improved the absorption capacity of emergency rooms and wards. The health management of the State delegations, with variable parades and routes, represented a further test, which was overcome thanks to operational flexibility and readiness to adapt.