By Angelo Amante
ROME (Reuters) – From patrols on the River Tiber to surveillance drones and snipers deployed around St. Peter’s Square, Rome is preparing to throw a thoroughly modern security shield around the ancient rituals of a papal funeral and its attendant huge crowds.
More than 200,000 people are expected to attend Pope Francis’ funeral, taking place on Saturday in the huge Vatican square that sits in front of the Basilica of St. Peter, Rome’s public transport company said.
Among them will be dozens of world leaders – including heads of state such as U.S. President Donald Trump and royals from Spain, Sweden and Belgium.
“The most complex aspect is the arrival of many dignitaries from all over the world, who will converge on Rome to go to a single point,” Rome’s police chief, Roberto Massucci, told RTL 102.5 radio on Thursday.
Some 2,000 local police officers will be on duty, joined by thousands more officers from the national security forces. Security measures will include patrols on the Tiber, drones, an army device to neutralise hostile flying objects and snipers, a police source told Reuters.
Streets will be closed to traffic around the Vatican on Saturday and authorities are assessing the best route for the procession that will take the coffin from the funeral to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (St. Mary Major), where Francis chose to be buried.
He died on Monday aged 88, and tens of thousands of people have filed past his open coffin since it was laid out in St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday. Security officers patrolled St. Peter’s Square on Thursday as people queued to get into the basilica.
The funeral will start at 10:00 a.m. (0800 GMT) on Saturday. Fabio Ciciliano, head of the national Civil Protection Department, said people might gather not only in St. Peter’s Square but also along the 4 km (2.5 miles) separating the Vatican from Santa Maria Maggiore, on the other side of the Tiber.
Authorities, who on Monday announced a no-fly zone over the capital for this week, will have to juggle a steady flow of VIP jets and state planes landing at Rome’s airports for the event.
“Some delegations will want to stay in Rome for some time, others, the vast majority we are registering at this moment, will leave immediately after the funeral,” Ciciliano said, stressing the difficulty of handling so many arrivals and departures.
He said the military airport of Pratica di Mare, south of Rome, will be a backup to the two city airports of Fiumicino and Ciampino in case of need.
The national railway company will add some 260,000 seats to its trains to the capital, the Civil Protection Department said, while city airports operator ADR expects up to 20,000 more people to arrive in Rome compared to previous estimates made for the Easter holidays.
Rome’s turn in the spotlight will not end with the funeral. Huge crowds generally gather to wait for the outcome of the secret conclave of cardinals that elects a new pope. That is not expected to start before May 6.
(Reporting by Angelo Amante; Editing by Frances Kerry)
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