(ANSA) - ROME, FEB 19 - Pompei, Naples, Lampedusa and Assisi are among the places Pope Leo XIV will visit this year in his travels around Italy, the Vatican said on Thursday. The first trip will take place on May 8 when the American pontiff will go to Pompei, the modern town that is home to the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii and to the Pontifical Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary of Pompei, and then visit Naples. He will return to Campania on May 23 to go to Acerra and meet faithful from the 'Land of Fires, an area between Naples and Caserta where the mafia and others have been burning toxic waste for years and pushing up cancer rates. He will be in Pavia on June 20 and Lampedusa, the Italian island that is often the destination migrants seeking to reach Europe from North Africa head towards, on July 4. Leo will visit Saint Francis's home town Assisi on August 6 and on August 22 he will take part in the 47th Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples organized by Catholic Comunione e Liberazione (CL) movement. He will be the first pope to take part in the Rimini meeting since John Paul II in 1982. (ANSA). Read article...

Pope Francis visited Acerra, where he met with families of victims from the 'land of fires' and urged them to dismantle the culture of arrogance.

Pope Francis has made a visit to the 'Land of Fires' region in Italy, an area known for its environmental issues.