A group of 30 Syrian refugees including many children will arrive at Rome's Fiumicino airport on Tuesday from the Lebanese capital Beirut as part of an initiative that has already brought around 1,000 people to Italy.
The head of the leading Catholic charity the St Egidio Community, Marco Impagliazzo, and Italys' deputy foreign minister, Mario Giro, are among officials who will meet the Syrian refugees at Fiumicino's Terminal 3.
Together with Italy's Evangelical and Waldensian churches, The St Egidio Community is spearheading the project which will bring a total of 1,000 refugees to Italy in 2018-2019.
The initiative, which began in 2016 and which allows Syrian refugees to enter Italy legally and in safety, has since been rolled out in France and Belgium.
A total of 40 Syrians were on Monday due to fly to Paris Charles de Gaulle airport from Beirut under the project.
The refugees include families and the sick. Besides accommodation, assistance provided to refugees under the project includes Italian lessons, job placements and enrolling children in schools.
