On Wednesday evening, an agreement was made to help the migrant reception center at the Vicofaro parish in the province of Pistoia become less crowded, following a meeting at the Pistoia prefecture.

The meeting was attended by the prefecture, the mayor of Pistoia, and representatives of the local ASL health department, the Catholic Church, the Region of Tuscany, and law enforcement.

The diocese agreed to relocate the approximately 200 migrants currently being hosted at the Vicofaro facility by redistributing them to other facilities in the diocese, with an emphasis on correct health and hygiene regulations including respect for avoiding gatherings, which can contribute to spreading coronavirus.

Operational meeting planned for Friday

The deal foresees the support of the Region of Tuscany in the redistribution operation. At the end of the meeting, Vicofaro parish priest Father Massimo Biancalani said he was willing to participate in the project, which will be outlined Friday during a new meeting.

Tuscany Governor Enrico Rossi is expected to attend the meeting, as governor-elect Eugenio Giani has not yet been sworn in.

Biancalani denounced a lack of solutions

Father Biancalani's parish has often been the focus of controversy over how it accommodated migrants, which was opposed by parishioners and local residents. After the umpteenth inspection of the facility, the ASL health department declared it was overcrowded and required it to relocate, as soon as possible, the guests to "facilities suitable both for capacity as well as for health-hygiene characteristics", considering also the risk due to COVID-19.

Last week, Biancalani criticised Italian authorities' inaction. "If institutions find a solution for us, it would be a victory, but unfortunately they don't want to find a solution," he said on September 26.

"As far as we are concerned, we will try to avoid drastic solutions in any way possible, because we can't put our guys out on the street," he said.