Italy drought: Vatican turns off fountains to save water

The drought that is affecting the city of Rome and the surrounding areas of the capital has led the Holy See to take measures to save water.

The Governorate of Vatican City State has decided to turn off all the fountains, both the external ones located in St. Peter’s Square, and the interior fountains including those in the Vatican Gardens.

The move is in line with the teachings of Pope Francis in his Encyclical on creation Laudate Si.

Meteorologists say that Italy had one of its driest springs in 60 years and rainfalls in some parts of the country have been 80 per cent below normal. Rome had just 26 days of rain in the first six months of this year.

It’s a disaster for agriculture in the country which has so far suffered 2 billion euro worth of damage.