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Protesters greeted the American ambassador’s luxury yacht in Venice on Friday with inflatable water toys, beach balls and a sign reading “Venezia non si USA,” a play on words meaning “Venice is not to be used.”
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Several hundred protesters marched against Tilman Fertitta’s arrival, briefly clashing with riot police as they neared the vessel.
Activists described his visit as an unwelcome display of American wealth and influence at a time when many Italians see the Trump administration as upending the post-World War II international order.
During the protest, people raised their hands to show they were peaceful as they approached a double line of riot police. Officers pushed them back with shields after demonstrators refused to stop, while inflatable toys were thrown through the air.
Following the brief clash, protesters shouted “Shame!” at the ambassador, the mayor and the police.
A tour of 13 Italian coastal regions
Fertitta arrived in Venice earlier Friday, mooring in St. Mark’s Basin as part of a coastal diplomacy tour marking the 250th anniversary of American independence.
As he arrived, protesters carried signs reading “Make America Read Again” and “Oligarch in saor,” a play on the traditional Venetian sardine dish sarde in saor.
The so-called Coastal Diplomacy 250 tour of 13 Italian coastal regions on a super yacht is intended to celebrate “our shared history, our economic partnership, and the cultural bonds that make the U.S.-Italy relationship so special,” Fertitta said in a social media post.
Fertitta issued a short statement supporting the right to protest. “I like Italians, we Americans respect freedom of speech and the right to peaceful protest; Coastal Diplomacy celebrates our nation’s founding and these fundamental rights”.
“It’s arrogant to think he can do what he wants in a city that is ever more sold to the single culture of tourism,’’ organizer Stella Morion told The Associated Press.
She said protesters are also opposed to President Donald Trump’s international politics, including US strikes on Iran, which she said have prompted a spike in energy prices.
“It is the umpteenth slap in the face of a city and all of the people in Venice who struggle to reach the end of the month due to an increase in prices caused by Trump’s war,” she said.
Details of who Fertitta will meet while in Venice have not been released, but he is expected to attend the famed Redentore festival on Saturday, which commemorates the end of the plague in 1576 culminating with celebratory fireworks over St. Mark’s Basin.