ITALY. CITIES LIGHT UP MONUMENTS AGAINST DEATH PENALTY

over 380 towns around the world joined forces to condemn the death penalty, as the United States prepared to carry out its 1,000th execution since reinstating capital punishment 30 years ago.
Rome's Colosseum, Brussels' Atomium, Madrid's Santa Ana Square, Buenos Aires' Obelisk and the Moneda Palace in Santiago were being lit up as part of the "Cities for Life" initiative, according to the organizer, the Catholic Sant' Egidio Community in Rome.
Many of the other towns and cities that had signed up to the initiative -- around half of them in Italy -- were hosting vigils or rallies to mark the day.
"Capital punishment supports a culture of death instead of fighting it, and puts the state on the same level as those who kill," said Sant'Egidio spokesman Mario Marazziti.
The date of November 30 was chosen to commemorate the abolition of the death penalty in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in 1786.