On 31 July 2025, at Palazzo Borromeo, headquarters of the Italian Embassy to the Holy See, a bilateral agreement was signed between Italy and the Holy See for the construction of an agrivoltaic system on land owned by the Holy See in Santa Maria di Galeria.
The Agreement, undersigned by H.E. Francesco Di Nitto, Italian Ambassador to the Holy See, and by the Secretary for Relations with States and International Organisations of the Holy See, H.E. Msgr. Gallagher, extends the benefits provided for in articles 15 and 16 of the Lateran Treaty, which had already been granted in 1951 to Vatican Radio stations, to the production of renewable electricity.
The construction of an agrivoltaic system in Santa Maria di Galeria will enable Vatican City State to be supplied with electricity from renewable sources. Any surplus of the electricity produced will remain available to the Italian Republic, including for social purposes.
Italy and the Holy See are both parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement and share the need to promote a transition to a sustainable development model that reduces greenhouse gas emissions. With the signing of the Agreement, the project for an agrivoltaic system in Santa Maria di Galeria, strongly supported by Pope Francis and confirmed by Pope Leo XIV, can now be realised. From the outset, Italy has welcomed the initiative and supports its implementation.
The extraordinary bilateral relations between Italy and the Holy See, marked by the search for shared solutions on matters of common interest, are now enriched by a new sector, thanks also to the possibilities opened up by advances in scientific knowledge and technology.
