On Thursday 31 July 2025, at 12.00, in Palazzo Borromeo in Rome, seat of the Embassy of Italy to the Holy See, the Agreement between the Holy See and the Italian Republic regarding an agrivoltaic facility at Santa Maria di Galeria was signed.

The Agreement was signed on behalf of the Holy See by His Excellency Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, titular of Hodelm and Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, and on behalf the Italian Republic by His Excellency Dr. Francesco Di Nitto, Ambassador of Italy to the Holy See.

The following participated in the solemn act:

On behalf of the Holy See: His Excellency Archbishop Giordano Piccinotti, President of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See; Sr. Raffaella Petrini, FSE, President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, who signed the minutes regarding the signing of the Agreement. Also present were: Professor Venerando Marano, President of the Vatican City State Tribunal; Dr. Fabio Gasperini, Secretary of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See; Mr. Giuseppe Puglisi-Alibrandi, Secretary-General of the Governorate of Vatican City State; Msgr. Massimiliano Matteo Boiardi, Official of the Secretariat of State, Section for Relations with States and International Organizations; Msgr. Carlos Fernando Díaz Paniagua, Official of the Secretariat of State, Section for Relations with States and International Organizations; and Mr. Diego Malosso, engineer, Director of the Real Estate Management Area of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See;

On behalf of the Italian Republic: Minister Plenipotentiary Stefano Soliman, Head of the Legislative Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; Dr. Jessica Laganà, First Advisor of the Embassy of Italy to the Holy See, who signed the minutes regarding the signing of the Agreement. Also present were representatives of the Italian central and territorial administrations that contributed to the drafting of the Agreement.

The Agreement, which consists of five articles, will come into effect on the date of receipt of the final written notice with which the Parties will have reciprocally communicated, through diplomatic channels, the completion of the internal procedures necessary for its entry into force.

The Agreement, a sign of the excellent bilateral relations, adapts the existing pactual obligations between the Parties to the new possibilities opened up by the evolution of scientific knowledge and technology related to the production of energy from renewable sources, in the light of the common commitment under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, signed in New York on 9 May 1992, and the Paris Agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, adopted in Paris on 12 December 2015.

The Agreement will allow for the construction, in the area of Santa Maria di Galeria owned by the Holy See, of an agrivoltaic facility that will allow for the supply of electricity from renewable sources to Vatican City State, based on solutions that, in accordance with current science and technology, will ensure the greatest possible respect for the earth, reconciling in the best possible way the objectives of preserving the agricultural use of the land, maintaining the hydrogeological balance of the area, minimizing as far as possible the environmental impact, and guaranteeing the protection of the cultural, archaeological and landscape heritage.