Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini gave a speech...

Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini gave a speech from New York, where he was attending the U.N. General Assembly saying: "We support the appeal made by the Pope. Italy hasn't given the United States any unwanted interference, at the root of our stance there are humanitarian reasons and the will to all that is possible in order that all avenues of defence remain open". Minister of justice Piero Fassino declared he had written an open letter to the Governor of Virginia, which had gone un-replied: "I consider it to be of great importance the fact that even the Pope has now united his authoritative opinion to those who fought and are fighting in order to save a man from being sent to his death. We will continue to push till the end, and in every way possible so that our appeals will be acknowledged". Umberto Ranieri, undersecretary for foreign affairs, said: "We still hope that at the last moment it is possible the American authorities reconsider this dramatic decision". Walter Veltroni participated in a candle lit protest of solidarity at the Pantheon square in Rome. Armando Cossutta also intervened by shouting "executioners all over the world should stop their horrid work". Demonstrations were organised in Turin, Milan, Mantua, Bergamo, Genoa, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna, in Tuscan citties and also in Terni, Naples, Salerno, Potenza, Bari, Cosenza, Crotone, Reggio Calabria and Catania. The political party of Young Socialists, allied to Enrico Borselli's S.D.I. (Italian Social Democrats) announced they would bombard various institutions in the state of Virginia. Leftist militants gathered under the window of Palermo mayor Leoluca Orlando, who was fighting to save Barnabei by giving him honorary citizenship status. During the evening there was a night vigil held by the Colosseum which was shown live on television and was organised by the Community of Saint Edigio and the anti-death penalty pressure group 'Hands off Cain'. Roberto Formigoni, the president of Lombardy, also appealed to the Governor of Virginia: "I'm not debating whether Barrnabei is innocent or not, but I believe that the death penalty is in any case the wrong solution". The president of Sicily, Vincenzo Lenza, declared: "We ask for a humanitarian deed". Tiziana Maiolo, MP for Forza Italia said: "Even though the situation is obviously desperate, I unite myself to the last appeals for sparing Barnabei's life. However, to organise a real campaign against the death penalty, it is necessary next time to choose a case in which the convict is guilty without a shadow of a doubt, that they are neither white nor have an Italian surname, and that they come from a place like China or Saudi Arabia, not just the United States". Even some of the Italian athletes in Sydney mobilised themselves for the cause, Manuela Di Centa (skiing) announced she would ask all the olimpic athletes for a jest against the death penalty. A similar appeal was also made by the athletes Antonio Rossi and Eva Giganti (weights). The Prime Minister Giuliano Amato, wrote a letter to the national newspaper 'La Repubblica', just a few hours before Rocco Derek Barnabei was due to be executed, in which he said: "The death penalty is a terrible thing if committed against someone who is a innocent, but it is, and still remains unfair, should it be applied to someone who turns out to be guilty". The speakers of the Houses of Parliament of Italy, France and Germany, Luciano Violante, Raymond Forni and Wolfgang Thierse respectively, made a united appeal to the Governor Gilmore of Virginia.