People pass through a security check in St.Peter's Square, prior to the Pope Francis' Angelus prayer on August 20, 2017 at the Vatican. Photo: Vincenzo Pinto/AFPItaly on Sunday boosted terror prevention measures surrounding the country's architectural and artistic treasures and major pedestrian areas in response to the attacks in Spain, Finland and Russia. Italy has not suffered any jihadist attacks on its territory but has been repeatedly warned by Islamic State (IS) propagandists that the country and the Vatican are on its hit list, most recently in messages relayed over the Telegram messaging service this weekend. New barriers capable of preventing vehicles entering areas with large numbers of people on foot have appeared in recent days in central Milan, Bologna and Turin and barriers around pedestrian areas are planned in Palermo. Three Italians were among the 13 people who were killed in the van rampage in Barcelona on Thursday and 43 Italians have died in jihadist attacks around the world since the 2003 Casablanca suicide bombings.

Source: The Local August 21, 2017 09:22 UTC