Regina Coeli prison
The Regina Coeli prison ( Italian Casa circondariale di Roma Regina Coeli ) is the central and most famous prison in the Italian capital, Rome . It is located on Via della Lungara 29 in the Trastevere district .
history
The prison, located around one kilometer southeast of St. Peter's Basilica between the Tiber and the Gianicolo Hill , was built between 1643 and 1654 under Urban VIII and Innocent X as a convent for the Discalced Carmelites . The name refers to the Marian title Regina coeli ("Queen of Heaven"). In 1810 Napoleonic troops confiscated the convent, and in 1814 the Carmelites were able to return. From 1873, the Italian state converted the convent into a prison, which was officially put into service in 1881 and also housed a school for prospective prison guards . The renovation and expansion work under Carlo Morgini dragged on until 1900, with the neighboring convent of Santa Maria della Visitazione being integrated and converted into the women's prison known as Le Mantellate . In 1902, Salvatore Ottolenghi founded the first forensic science school in Italy in Regina Coeli prison , from which the Scuola superiore di polizia arose. During the period of fascism , a number of members of the opposition were imprisoned in Regina Coeli. Already at that time, plans were being made to dissolve the no longer up-to-date prison, which was later partially modernized. In 1972 a modern prison was opened in the Rebibbia district, but it has not been possible to do without Regina Coeli's capacities to this day.
Occupancy
It has a total capacity of 750 prison places. In 2013 the average occupancy was 1,050 inmates and was thus well above the regular inmate capacity. This corresponds to the nationwide situation. Repeated protests by prisoners and politicians as well as reprimands from the EU prompted the Italian government in 2013 to expand the country's prisoner capacity.
Others
- Several Popes have visited the Regina Coeli prison over the past few decades. The first visit by John XXIII caused a stir . on December 26, 1958, which established a new tradition. Paul VI visited the prisoners in 1964, John Paul II followed in 2000 and Benedict XVI. 2011.
- The Gianicolo Hill, at the foot of which the prison is located, offers the possibility of establishing contact between inmates and relatives outside of visiting hours by shouting because of the short distance to some cells. For a long time, this practice was tolerated by prison officials and was therefore a tourist attraction. Often men with the appropriate voice offered themselves for a fee for the calls. The messages were then passed on to other inmates via a particularly conveniently located cell.
- Until a few years ago, however, prison inmates were also able to establish silent communication with their relatives. Contact was made by light signals from the Faro del Gianicolo lighthouse , which is within sight of the prison on Janiculum Hill.
Prominent inmates
- Antonio Gramsci , writer and co-founder of the KPI
- Leone Ginzburg , writer and anti-fascist
- Gaetano Salvemini , historian and anti-fascist
- Sandro Pertini , socialist and president
- Giuseppe Saragat , Social Democrat and President
- Alcide De Gasperi , Christian Democrat and Prime Minister
- Cesare Pavese , writer and anti-fascist
- Luchino Visconti , director
- Ernesto Rossi , co-author of the Ventotene Manifesto
- Giuseppe Bottai , a fascist politician, voted in July 1943 for Mussolini's deposition
- Achille Starace , fascist politician
- Herbert Kappler , SS officer, organized the massacre in the Ardeatine caves
Web links
- Entry on the website of the Italian Ministry of Justice (Italian)
- On the history of the prison (Italian)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Annett Klingner: 111 PLACES IN ROME YOU MUST HAVE SEEN , in Emons Verlag GmbH (Ed.), ISBN 978-3-95451-219-5 , Cologne 2016, 53. Der Leuchtturm , pp. 114–115
Coordinates: 41 ° 53 ′ 43 " N , 12 ° 27 ′ 52" E