Basilica of San Pedro in the Vatican premieres evacuation plan for pilgrim security

With the aim of improving the experience of pilgrims traveling to Rome to participate in the Jubileo de La Esperanza, the San Pedro factory has guided different restoration and innovation works.

This Friday a press conference took place in Rome to present the restoration works, as well as the technological and security implementation, which includes a new evacuation plan – carried out inside the Basilica of San Pedro, the heart of Catholicism.

Specifically, conservation tasks have been carried out in the monuments that guard the tombs of Pablo III and Urban VIII. Rehabilitation processes have also been carried out to illuminate the necropolis, as well as archaeological rooms and Vatican caves.

Likewise, a new evacuation plan has been established, created thanks to the synergy between the Italian Fire Department and that of the Government of the state of the city of the Vatican.

“Correspond to the faith of the pilgrims”

Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, Arciprest of the Papal Basilica of San Pedro in the Vatican, explained in the informative session this Friday that the works seek to “correspond to the faith” of the pilgrims and visitors who cross the doors of the basilica.

This basilica receives 12 million visitors every year. Therefore, he needs according to Cardinal Gambetti “to guarantee security and make everyone feel protected.”

In this way, the new temple evacuation plan “is a concrete expression of that pastoral request that cares about the well -being of each faithful and visitor.”

In this context, he said that “a better management and speed of the output flows will guarantee greater comfort and safety.”

“We want to return what is given to us and what this place of the Spirit has bequeathed over the centuries, especially in this jubilee year,” he said.

Restoration and conservation works are revealed, according to purple, “as gestures of light and memory that accompany the pilgrim in an experience of contemplation, faith and beauty.”

To also offer an “immersion in history and a deep experience of the sacred”, renovations have been carried out in the archaeological spaces, as seen by the first Christians and the potatoes of past centuries, “in a splendor of chiaroscuros that evoke the light of the torches that illuminated the birth of the church and our own path,” he said.

The purple also thanked the collaboration of the benefactors: the Knights of Colón, who have intervened in the restoration of the necropolis, and the Safavi Philanthropic Institutewhich has contributed to the enhancement of the Vatican caves.

Reduce risks in critical situations

Stefano Marseille, Central Director of Technological Innovation and Logistic Resources of the Fire Department of Italy also participated in the press conference.

Marseille stressed that this new emergency plan is designed to “reduce risks in critical situations, both during the religious events of the jubilee and in the days of high and constant flow of pilgrims and tourists.”

In addition, he said that training activities will be carried out thanks to an “exhaustive study of evacuation routes within the basilica”.

The work began with the use, by the personnel of the National Fire Department, of high precision scanner laser systems to carry out a three -dimensional design with a millimeter exactness of almost the entire basilica.

This allowed to reproduce the place with precision and verify some fundamental details for the simulation without the need to carry out constant face -to -face inspections.

Subsequently a software Specialized in detailing the behavior of people and the characteristics of the environment, “which allowed to analyze the fluidity of the movement towards exits and identify the critical points that could slow down the evacuation in case of emergency”, as well as identify the areas where dangerous bottles are generated, he clarified.

Transform a historical space into a safer place

Among the key aspects that arose from the study, “the elimination of physical and informal barriers stands out, which led to replace steps steep by ramps, in order to reduce risks and make the basilica more accessible to all, including people with disabilities or reduced mobility,” added the central director of Technological Innovation and Logistic Resources of the Fire Department of Italy

The proposed modifications also significantly reduce the necessary times to evacuate the basilica, significantly improving the above procedures.

“The objective has been to transform a historical, but complex space, in an even safer place for the millions of annual faithful and visitors, using innovative technology and meticulously designed plans,” he concluded.