Pope, six armoured kilometres for funeral procession to Santa Maria Maggiore. How security will be handled 'at the highest level'

The last journey of Pope Francis will last six kilometres from St Peter's Square to Santa Maria Maggiore. A route that will cross the streets of the centre of Rome at the end of the funeral and that will be "carefully monitored" by the forces of order. The route that the funeral procession will take is still being studied, but it is not excluded that it will pass through the city's most symbolic places. Among the hypotheses, Bergoglio's coffin could pass through Corso Vittorio to then cross Piazza Venezia, the Imperial Forum to the Colosseum, take Via Labicana and Via Merulana to then reach the basilica in the Esquilino district, where the burial will take place. "The route will be suitably manned," assured Rome prefect Lamberto Giannini at the end of a meeting of the provincial committee for public order and safety. While Questore Roberto Massucci, describing it as a 'historic moment', guaranteed attention 'at the highest levels'.

On that day maxi-screens will be installed in Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore and, behind it, in Piazza dell'Esquilino. Already today, Giannini explained, "we have seen a very large influx of people. At lunchtime more than ten thousand people had entered the basilica,' he added, 'evidently because with the news of the future burial of the Pontiff the place takes on a particular interest. But the whole weekend will be very demanding for the capital in terms of public order. In addition to the arrival of the Greats of the Earth who, together with more than two hundred thousand faithful, will reach Rome to pay their last respects to Pope Francis on Saturday, there will also be the events scheduled for the 80th anniversary of the Liberation.

The security machine was already set in motion on Easter Monday morning when the Pope died, but measures will be further strengthened on Friday when US President Donald Trump lands in the capital and the 25 April celebrations take place. Maximum attention on Liberation Day will be paid to the Porta San Paolo area, the arrival point of the procession of students, movements, and the anti-war network and where, early in the morning, a garrison of Palestinians 'against Zionism' is scheduled to take place in conjunction with the laying of a wreath by members of the Jewish community. Also under special surveillance on Friday is the Parioli district where Villa Taverna, the US ambassador's residence where the tycoon will stay, is located. All the movements of the US president's motorcade will obviously be manned and monitored, as well as those of the other foreign leaders who will reach Rome.

170 delegations are expected for the funeral. The security plan for that day is impressive, with reinforcements also arriving from other regions. The area of St. Peter's Square will be super-armoured, with preventive underground clean-ups and drones at the Questura to guarantee a bird's eye view through 3D images. Sharpshooters will be deployed on the buildings, bomb disposal squads, canine units, river police to patrol the Tiber and the docks, and the Nbcr units of the fire brigade to combat the nuclear, bacteriological, chemical and radiological threat. Also in the field are the anti-drone bazookas: a sort of bollard that can inhibit radio waves in the event of sightings of unauthorised aircraft. To enter the square, the faithful will have to pass through manned gates with metal detectors. And those who will not be able to get as far as the square will be able to follow the service from the big screens that will be positioned along Via della Conciliazione, in Piazza Pia and Piazza Risorgimento.