Agreement Signed Between the Holy See and Italy for the Construction of an Agrivoltaic Plant

A step forward has been taken toward the construction of an agrivoltaic plant in a vast area of land belonging to the Holy See on the outskirts of Rome, known as Santa Maria di Galeria. On Thursday, July 31, 2025, at 12:00 noon, an agreement between the Holy See and the Italian Republic was signed at Palazzo Borromeo, the headquarters of the Embassy of Italy to the Holy See in Rome, as announced by a communiqué from the Holy See.

Signing the agreement on behalf of the Holy See was the Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, and, on behalf of Italy, Francesco Di Nitto, Italy’s Ambassador to the Holy See.

The agreement consists of five articles and will officially come into force once both Parties have completed the required internal procedures and have formally notified each other through diplomatic channels.

This agreement, which reflects the positive state of relations between Italy and the Holy See, updates the commitments already in place between the two Parties, taking into account scientific and technological advancements in the field of renewable energy. It has been concluded within the framework of the common commitment undertaken in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (New York, 1992) and in the Paris Agreement (2015).

Thanks to this agreement, an agrivoltaic plant will be built in Santa Maria di Galeria  to produce renewable electricity for the Vatican City State. The plant will be designed using the best available technologies to minimize its impact on the territory: it will be conceived to reconcile agricultural land use with energy production, to protect the hydrogeological balance, reduce environmental impact, and safeguard the cultural, archaeological, and landscape heritage of the area.

With the Apostolic Letter issued Motu Proprio Fratello Sole on June 21, 2024, Pope Francis entrusted to the President of the Governorate of Vatican City State and to the President of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See “the task of constructing an agrivoltaic plant within the extraterritorial area of Santa Maria di Galeria, ensuring not only the electricity supply for the existing radio station there, but also the complete energy self-sufficiency of the Vatican City State.”

In the Motu Proprio, Pope Francis recalled what he had already stated in the Encyclical Laudato si’, where he invited everyone to adopt more sustainable lifestyles and to use resources and energy more sparingly, as a concrete gesture of love for the Earth and for others.

To achieve the goal of climate neutrality, Pope Francis stated, it is necessary not only to change behaviors and habits, but also to promote a sustainable development model capable of reducing greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.

Among the technological solutions available today, one of the most promising is agrivoltaics: a system that allows the production of renewable energy through solar panels installed on agricultural land, without sacrificing cultivation. This approach makes it possible to combine agricultural production with energy generation in a sustainable way.

On Thursday, June 19, Pope Leo XIV visited Santa Maria di Galeria, the extraterritorial area where the shortwave Radio Center of Vatican Radio, of the Dicastery for Communication, is located. That visit was also an opportunity to review 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, a project for an agrivoltaic plant is under study.

Present at the signing of the Agreement, among others, on behalf of the Holy See were: Archbishop Giordano Piccinotti, President of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), Sister Raffaella Petrini, F.S.E., President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, who signed the minutes related to the agreement’s signing.

Also in attendance were Venerando Marano, President of the Vatican City State Tribunal, Fabio Gasperini, Secretary of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, Giuseppe Puglisi-Alibrandi, Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State, Monsignor Massimiliano Matteo Boiardi, Official of the Secretariat of State, Section for Relations with States and International Organizations, Monsignor Carlos Fernando Díaz Paniagua, Official of the Secretariat of State, Section for Relations with States and International Organizations, and Diego Malosso, Head of Real Estate Management of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See.

On the Italian side: Minister Plenipotentiary Stefano Soliman, Head of the Legislative Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Jessica Laganà, Chief Counselor of the Embassy of Italy to the Holy See, who signed the minutes related to the agreement’s signing. Also present were representatives of Italian central and territorial administrations who contributed to the drafting of the agreement.