For the funeral of the Holy Father, many faithful are expected to pass through the Vatican area in Rome to pay their respects to Pope Francis.
In order to optimize the arrival of tourist buses on the occasion of Pope Francis’ funeral, Roma Servizi per la Mobilità sent a communication via e-mail to 2372 operators in the sector. In it it reminds the type of Great Events permit that must be compulsorily purchased, at www.romamobilita.it , in order to be able to enter the city and stop only in one of the specially activated stalls (which can also be consulted at www.romamobilita.it).
In collaboration with Viabilità Italia, Anas, Aiscat, Strada dei Parchi, and Autostrade per l’Italia, Roma Servizi per la Mobilità also created messages to be carried on Variable Message Boards to remind people of access and parking rules.
The following are some useful tips and information provided by the Civil Defense Department:
- remember to make your own travel and stay arrangements;
- prefer to use public transportation to get to the event venue and inform yourself of any changes in service at atac.roma.it;
- informed about the authorities’ arrangements regarding the access gates to the Vatican area;
- the waiting time to pay homage to Pope Francis could be very long, so make sure you have water and groceries with you; do not leave trash in the street;
- inquire in advance about the weather forecast, bring appropriate clothing to shelter you in case of rain, and dress in layers for the possible temperature hike;
- if you can, take a power-bank with you to charge your cell phone.
If you need information during your stay, you can contact the following useful numbers:
- call Rome 060606
- contact center of the Civil Protection Department 800 840 840 (for this circumstance active from 6 a.m. to midnight)
- toll-free number of Civil Protection Lazio Region 800 27 65 70
- do not call 112 unless absolutely necessary; it is a rescue number and not an information service.