Approved by the Senate of the Italian Republic: Bill regarding the ratification and implementation of the Agreement between Italy and the Holy See
A step forward for the agrivoltaic plant in Santa Maria di Galeria
On Wednesday, 7 January, the Senate of the Italian Republic approved the bill concerning the ratification and implementation of the Agreement between Italy and the Holy See for an agrivoltaic plant in Santa Maria di Galeria, signed in Rome on 31 July 2025.
This represents a further step toward the construction of what will be an agrivoltaic facility to produce renewable electricity for the Vatican City State. The plant, which will be built in Santa Maria di Galeria (an area outside Rome owned by the Holy See), will be designed using the best available technologies in order to respect the territory as much as possible. It will therefore be built with structures raised above the ground, to promote the continued use of the land for agricultural and livestock activities.
In this way, it will reconcile agricultural land use with energy production, helping to protect the hydrogeological balance, reduce environmental impact, and safeguard the cultural, archaeological, and landscape heritage of the area.
The project was initiated at the behest of Pope Francis, who, with the Apostolic Letter issued motu proprio Fratello Sole of 21 June 2024, entrusted the President of the Governorate of the Vatican City State and the President of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See with “the task of constructing an agrivoltaic plant located within the extraterritorial area of Santa Maria di Galeria, which will ensure not only the electrical supply of the radio station located there, but also the complete energy self-sufficiency of the Vatican City State.”
On Thursday, 19 June, Pope Leo XIV visited Santa Maria di Galeria, the extraterritorial area where the Vatican Radio shortwave transmission center of the Dicastery for Communication is located. That visit was also an opportunity to examine the extraterritorial area—whose status dates back to agreements with the Italian Government in 1951—for which, on the basis of the motu proprio Fratello Sole, an agrivoltaic plant project is planned.
The Agreement was signed at Palazzo Borromeo, seat of the Embassy of Italy to the Holy See in Rome, on Thursday, 31 July 2025, by Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, and Ambassador Francesco Di Nitto, the representative of Italy to the Holy See.
Those present at the signing of the Agreement included, among others, Archbishop Giordano Piccinotti, President of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, and Sister Raffaella Petrini, FSE, President of the Governorate of the Vatican City State, who signed the official minutes related to the conclusion of the Agreement.
The Agreement consists of five articles and will officially enter into force once both Parties have completed their respective ratification procedures and have notified each other of this step through diplomatic channels.
This Agreement updates the commitments already in place between the two Parties, taking into account advances in science and technology in the field of renewable energy. It also bears witness to the synergy between Italy and the Vatican.