Hundreds of people demonstrated in the Italian city of Venice, yesterday, Friday, in protest against the arrival of the luxury yacht of the US Ambassador to Italy, Tilman Fertitta, to the city, which led to friction between the protesters and the riot police.
Activists described Fertitta’s arrival as “an unwelcome display of American wealth and influence,” considering that US President Donald Trump’s policies destabilize the international order that was formed after World War II.
The demonstrators marched behind a banner that read: “Venezia non si USA,” a pun that means “Venice is not the United States of America,” carrying inflatable water toys and beach balls.
When the protesters approached the lines of “anti-riot” police, they raised their hands to confirm the peaceful nature of their movements, but the police used shields to repel them when they refused to stop, before the demonstrators chanted: “Shame!” In the face of the ambassador, the mayor and the police.
Fertitta arrived in Venice yesterday, as part of a coastal diplomatic tour to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the “independence of the United States,” where his yacht docked in the San Marco Basin amid an intense security deployment.
