Press release: The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall to visit Italy
Their Royal Highnesses to spend 6 days of their European tour, including Romania, Austria and the Holy See, in Italy.
Rome, 16 March 2017 - The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will be in Italy and the Holy See from 31 March to 5 April. An important part of the European tour, the visit will highlight the UK’s relationship with Italy in areas including social cohesion, military ties and combating human trafficking.
Engagements will include a visit to The Holy See, where their Royal Highnesses will meet His Holiness Pope Francis, and, in Rome, the President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella.
While in Rome, His Royal Highness will also visit the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation to hear about their work to address the developing famine in the Horn of Africa and the contribution which has been made by UK Aid.
The Prince will also make a trip to Amatrice in central Italy where he will meet some of those affected by the earthquake which hit the region in August 2016. His Royal Highness will talk to local families, emergency service personnel and some of those co-ordinating the reconstruction effort.
In Florence, Their Royal Highnesses will attend a reception and a dinner hosted by the Palazzo Strozzi Foundation recognizing the 100th anniversary of the British Institute of Florence and celebrating His Royal Highness as the Renaissance Man of the Year, which is an annual award given by the Palazzo Strozzi Foundation.
While in Florence, Their Royal Highnesses will also sample some of the best ‘Slow Food’ that the region has to offer, and attend an event to recognise the work of The Prince’s ‘Campaign for Wool’, which raises awareness amongst consumers about the unique, natural, renewable and biodegradable benefits offered by the fibre.
The Duchess of Cornwall will also visit, in Florence, the ‘Associazione Progetto Arcobaleno’, a project which helps immigrants and the impoverished, as well as the female victims of human trafficking, by providing language classes and career advice.
On the theme of social cohesion, The Duchess of Cornwall will visit ‘La Gloriette’, a villa in Naples which has been confiscated from the mafia and now houses a project to help young people socialize and integrate into their community.
On the same day, The Duchess of Cornwall will visit Herculaneum, where she will hear how international partnerships and Italian expertise are transforming the archaeological site and surrounding communities.
In North East Italy, His Royal Highness will pay homage to the victims of the First World War and will commemorate the centenary of the deployment of British Forces to the Austrian Front.
Notes to Editors
The British Government has asked The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall to visit Europe between 29th March and 6th April 2017. The Tour will begin in Romania; The Prince will visit Bucharest and the surrounding area from 29th-31st March. The Prince and Duchess will then undertake engagements in Italy, in Florence, Vicenza, Naples, Amatrice and Rome, from 31st March to 5th April. They will meet His Holiness Pope Francis and tour the Vatican during a visit to the Holy See on 4th April, before moving on to tour Vienna, Austria from 5th-6th April.
The Prince of Wales has visited Romania officially once before. His Royal Highness has visited Italy officially 19 times, and The Duchess of Cornwall has visited once. The Prince has undertaken two previous visits to the Vatican, and The Duchess of Cornwall one. His Royal Highness has visited Austria officially 3 times and this will be The Duchess’s first official visit.