\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe voice has become bigger,\u201d Mr. Fortunato said. <\/p>\n
Previous campaigns to have the plaque removed have failed. Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, about 12,000 people signed an online petition<\/a> to have it taken down, but were rebuffed. Part of the problem is that it is not clear even to some local officials who is responsible for making that decision, although the basilica\u2019s rector, Giovanni Distante, said the piazza where the plaque is mounted \u201cfalls under the direct responsibility\u201d of the city government.<\/p>\n Bari\u2019s mayor, Antonio Decaro, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. In 2022, he defended<\/a> the plaque, saying, \u201cI\u2019m not in favor of canceling a piece of history,\u201d local news media reported at the time.<\/p>\n In an interview, Father Distante tried to navigate the dispute by instead focusing on the history of \u201cpromoting and re-establishing Christian unity\u201d that St. Nicholas espoused, and pointedly noted that it was the Russian Orthodox church in Kyiv, Ukraine\u2019s capital, that in 1095 established the commemoration of the relics now housed in Bari. It was a subtle acknowledgment of the rupture between the Orthodox Church<\/a> in Ukraine and the traditional Russian patriarchy, led by an ally of Mr. Putin, that followed the 2022 invasion<\/a>.<\/p>\n But, Father Distante said, St. Nicholas\u2019s legacy of promoting \u201cjustice, truth, love, peace\u201d also serves as an appropriate backdrop for the G7 meeting.<\/p>\n Last month, around 1,000 Orthodox pilgrims attended the annual services celebrating St. Nicholas at the Bari basilica, including some visitors from Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet states, but mostly from the local population. In years past, officials said, the celebration drew more than 10,000 people, about one-third of them from Russia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n