ROME, 25 OCT - Cooperating in planning and training to raise safety standards in the monumental complex of St. Peter's Basilica is the goal of the memorandum of understanding signed by the Fire Department of the Italian Republic and the Fabbrica di San Pietro in the Vatican.
The agreement was signed - in the presence of the Undersecretary of State at the Italian Ministry of the Interior, Hon. Emanuele Prisco - by the Head of the Department Prefect Laura Lega and by H.Em. Card. Mauro Gambetti, Archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica and President of the Fabbrica di San Pietro. Present in the Italian delegation were the Head of the National Corps Eng. Carlo Dall'Oppio and the Department's top management.
"The agreement kicks off what we believe will be a strategic collaboration that aims to implement, with specific projects and dedicated training courses, an important preventive action to ensure, also in anticipation of the next Jubilee, which will welcome thousands of pilgrims and visitors, maximum security at St. Peter's," said Prefect Lega. "For this reason, we wanted the signing to take place at the Fire Brigade National Operations Centre, the beating heart of the Department's activities. The signing of the document is the start of a path of cooperation to develop joint projects and training courses, useful for a more direct dialogue between the parties".
Card. Gambetti highlighted the importance of the collaboration. "The protocol is one of the fruits of the good relations between Italy and the Holy See: by investing in training and prevention, the highest level of expertise is put at the disposal of the community so that access to St. Peter's Basilica, with its wealth of art and culture, takes place in conditions of ever greater security". The religious authority also wished to emphasise how the 'gratuitousness of these places brings with it gratitude for those who work daily to ensure that they are always safe'.
Undersecretary Prisco emphasised the importance of the agreement, due to the artistic and religious value that the Basilica represents."A system of prevention, training and information at the disposal of rescuers called to intervene, if necessary, to protect the citizens who experience St. Peter's every day".
Institutional Communication Office Basilica and Fabbrica di San Pietro
comunicazioneistituzionale@fsp.va
Roberta Leone (manager) +393931198745
Beatrice Offidani (collaborator) +393461425033
