Funeral of Pope Francis, maximum alert in Rome: 200,000 people expected

Extraordinary security measures activated: no fly zone, anti-drone bazookas and over two thousand agents in the field. Volunteers, health workers and It Alert also involved to manage the influx

Rome is preparing to experience one of the most impressive events in its recent history: the funeral of Pope Francis. More than 200,000 people and 170 foreign delegations are expected, in a setting that calls for extraordinary security measures. As announced by the prefect of Rome Lamberto Giannini, the plan prepared for the Jubilee has been further strengthened, with the deployment of sharpshooters, the blocking of airspace and the introduction of high-tech anti-drone systems, known as ‘anti-drone bazookas’, capable of neutralising flying threats.

The no-fly zone is already active, as well as monitoring on the ground, in the sky and on the Tiber, where the River Police is also engaged in patrols. On the ground there will be more than 2,000 Local Police officers between 25 and 26 April alone, flanked by Carabinieri, Guardia di Finanza, Fire Brigade and State Police. The deployment of plainclothes officers is also envisaged to combat abusive behaviour and predatory crimes.

To manage the influx of the faithful, the Civil Defence has set up reinforced medical stations and deployed 2500 volunteers, supported by another 250 medical personnel. The Centocelle reception centre was also expanded from 4000 to 7000 places to accommodate Jubilee adolescents and volunteers from outside the region.

To avoid overcrowding and improve the dissemination of information, the It Alert system will also be activated, which will send multilingual notifications with links to detailed information content on the Civil Protection website. The main inflow areas will be Via della Conciliazione, Piazza Pia and Castel Sant’Angelo.

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(Photo: © AndKronos)