Security measures and logistics, Rome prepares for farewell to Francis

More than one hundred delegations, including heads of state and government, will gather in St. Peter's Square on Saturday along with more than two hundred thousand faithful. Rome is preparing to give the last farewell to Pope Francis with an impressive security device: The security machine called to manage yet another ordeal in the capital was set in motion as early as Easter Monday morning, as soon as the news broke of Bergoglio's death, but the measures will intensify further from today, when Francis' body will be exposed at St. Peter's, and will reach their peak on the day of the funeral.

To finalise every detail, a double summit was held in the prefecture. A National Committee for Order and Security chaired by Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi and followed by the Provincial Committee chaired by Prefect Lamberto Giannini. "We have launched this great effort for public security profiles, a very demanding event because it sees the concomitance of the Pope's funeral, the 25 April celebrations and the Jubilee events already scheduled," said the Viminale titular, explaining that the security devices are being calibrated for a "maximum framework" of 170 delegations, including heads of state and government. In the morning, there was also an operational inspection in St. Peter's Square attended by police forces and all the bodies involved. Under the lens, in particular, was the management of the arrival and departure of the authorities and the deployment of emergency vehicles.

A no-fly zone has already been set up in Rome, while the area of St. Peter's Square will be super-armoured on Saturday, with preventive clearance even underground. Sharpshooters, bomb disposal squads, the canine units of the various police forces, the river police for patrolling the Tiber and the docks, and the Nbcr units of the fire brigade to combat the nuclear, bacteriological, chemical and radiological threat will be deployed. For access to St. Peter's Square there will be manned checkpoints with metal detectors and anti-drone devices belonging to the armed forces will also be deployed. Special surveillance will be dedicated to airports, stations and also to the districts where the authorities will be staying, starting from Parioli, where Villa Taverna, the home of the American ambassador where Donald Trump will be staying, is located. Many leaders are expected to arrive in Rome on Saturday and leave later in the day, while the US president himself is expected to arrive on Friday.

Instead, the head of the Civil Protection Department, Fabio Ciciliano, will be in charge of the reception, mobility and assistance of the faithful for the funerals. The go-ahead came from the Council of Ministers, which adopted an ad hoc measure. Ciciliano will work in "close liaison" with the government commissioner for the Jubilee and mayor of Rome Roberto Gualtieri, with the president of the Lazio region Francesco Rocca and with the prefect of Rome Lamberto Giannini, and will be able to make use of the Civil Protection operational structures and of any "implementing subjects for the completion of specific actions or interventions", including "in-house companies or companies in which the state and the territorial bodies concerned have a stake".