With the reform of the Italian Intelligence Services approved on 1 August 2007, CESIS was replaced by DIS.

History

Since the end of World War II, Italian intelligence agencies have been reorganized many times in an attempt to increase their effectiveness and bring them more fully under civilian control.

The committee was established as part of a broader reform of the Italian intelligence community, which represented the latest in a long string of government attempts to effectively manage Italy's intelligence agencies.

• In 1977, with Legislative Act n.801 of 24/10/1977, this came after a former chief of SID, Vito Miceli, was arrested for "conspiration against the State" (See Golpe Borghese), and the intelligence agencies were reorganized in a democratic attempt. This re-organization mainly consisted of:
• The split of SID, the intelligence agency at that time, into two separate agencies with different roles: SISDE (the domestic one) and SISMI (the military one).
• The creation of CESIS, with a coordination role between the two intelligence agencies and the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.
• The creation of the Parliamentary Committee, COPACO, to oversee the activities of the two agencies.

• Since 1 August 2007, with Legislative Act n.124 of 08/03/2007, following the reform of the Italian intelligence agencies, SISDE, SISMI and CESIS were replaced respectively by AISI, AISE and DIS, and the COPACO was granted additional oversight and control powers.

CESIS's first Secretary General was Prefect Gaetano Napoletano, the last one was Lieutenant General Giuseppe Cucchi.

Mission

• The President of Council or, by proxy, another government authority.
• The Secretary General of the President of the Council of Ministers' Office.
• The Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• The Chief of the General Staff of the Italian Defence.
• The Chief of Police (In Italy, the top authority of the Polizia di Stato).
• The Commanding Generals of the Arma dei Carabinieri and the Guardia di Finanza (in Italy, the two top authorities of the Arma dei Carabinieri and the Guardia di Finanza).
• The Directors of SISDE and SISMI.
• The Secretary General of CESIS.

The Secretary General of CESIS was not only a member, but, as the chief of General Secretariat of CESIS (see below), he also acted as the Secretary of this body.

The General Secretariat

• Acted as a link interface between the information collected by the two intelligence agencies and the political Authority.
• Acted as a filter interface between the intelligence sector and the other public administration departments.
• Coordinated and directed intelligence agencies' personnel.
• Decided which foreign intelligence and security agencies SISDE and SISMI were allowed to estabilish contacts with.
• Through the UCSI (Central Security Office), a structure located within the General Secretariat of CESIS, it:
• authorized persons and companies to deal with classified information.
• attended to the managements of the State Secrets.

By means of the General Secretariat, the President of Council ensures the unity of political leadership and management of the intelligence agencies.

The Secretary General exerted, by proxy, the role of ANS ("National Security Authority"), peculiar of the President of Council.

The Secretary Generals

• Gaetano Napoletano (1977 - 1978)
• Walter Pelosi (1978 - 1981)
• Orazio Sparano (1981 - 1987)
• Giuseppe Richero (1987 - 1991)
• Francesco Paolo Fulci (1991 - 1993)
• Giuseppe Taormina (1993 - 1994)
• Umberto Pierantoni (1994 - 1996)
• Francesco Berardino (1996 - 2001)
• Fernando Masone (2001 - 2003)
• Emilio del Mese (2003 - 20 November 2006)
• Giuseppe Cucchi (21 November 2006 - 3 August 2007)

References

External links

• The Italian Intelligence and Security Services Official Website - CESIS
• The Italian Intelligence and Security Services Official Website - The General Secretariat of CESIS
• The Italian Intelligence and Security Services Official Website - The [[Autorità Nazionale per la Sicurezza|ANS] ("National Security Authority") and UCSI ("Central Security Office")]
• The Italian Intelligence and Security Services Official Website - Home Page
• The Italian Intelligence and Security Services Official Website - A Brief History

Cēsis is a town in Latvia located in the northern part of the Vidzeme Central upland. Cēsis is on the Gauja River valley, and is built on a series of ridges above the river overlooking the "blue woods" below. It is the capital of Cesis County.

The castle

German crusaders known as the Livonian Order began construction of a castle (Wenden) near the hill fort in 1209. When the castle was enlarged and fortified, it served as the residence for the Order's Master from 1237 till 1561, with periodic interruptions. In 1577 the garrison destroyed the castle to prevent it from falling into the control of Ivan the Terrible. In 1598 it was incorporated into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Wenden Voivodship was created. In 1620 Wenden was conquered by Sweden. It was rebuilt afterwards, but destroyed again in 1703 during the Great Northern War by the Russian army and left in a ruined state. From the end of the 16th century, the premises of the Order's castle were adapted to the requirements of the Cēsis castle estate. When in 1777 the Cēsis castle estate was obtained by Count Sievers, he had his new residence house built on the site of the eastern block of the castle, joining its end wall with the fortification tower. Since 1949, the Cēsis History Museum has been located in the New Castle on the Cēsis Castle estate. The front yard of the New Castle is enclosed by a granary and a stable-coach house, which now houses the Exhibition Hall of the Museum. Beside the granary there is the oldest brewery in Latvia, Cēsu alus darītava, which was built in 1878 during the latter years of Count Sievers' residency, but its origins date back to the period of the Livonian Order.

Further on is the Cēsis castle park, which was laid out in 1812. The park has the romantic characteristic of that time, with its winding foot-paths, exotic plants, and the waters of the pond reflecting the castle's ruins.

The town

The planning of the town of Cēsis was done in the second half of the 13th century. The market place with a church was in the centre of the town. The centre of housing was the stone castle of the Livonian Order with its three fortified towers. The town was also encircled by a dolomite stone wall with eight towers and five gates. Buildings from the medieval ages include St. John's Church (built 1281-1284), the ruins of the Order's castle, Cēsis Castle and fortification walls, fragments of which can still be seen at Vaļņu and Palasta Streets. In addition, ancient road networks and building plots have survived from medieval times, although many of the buildings themselves have been ruined (the last destroyed in 1748). 18th century buildings can be seen at 16 and 25 Rīgas Street, while houses built in the first part of the 19th century are at 15 and 47 Rīgas Street, 6 Gaujas Street, and other urban roads.

In the second half of the 19th century, the construction of the Rīga-Pskov highway (1868) and the Rīga-Valka railway line (1889) accelerated the development of the town. Raunas Street, leading from the railway station to the Old Town, was developed as a wide, presentable street with the Latvian Society House at 10 Raunas Street (architect A. Malvess), the Building of the Regional Court at 14 Raunas Street (architect P. Mengelis), and other important buildings.

The Battle of Cēsis in June 1919 when Estonian and Latvian forces defeated the Germans was one of the decisive battles in the Latvian War of Independence.

Cēsis was also developed as a health resort. Upmarket summer houses and health centres were built in the vicinity of the Gauja. 'Cīrulīši' near the Svētavots (Holy Spring) Cave is the most remarkable of them, with a spring believed to possess healing powers.