Hundreds of activists clashed with riot police in Venice on Friday after attempting to block US Ambassador Tilman Fertitta’s 117-meter superyacht. The demonstration, which intercepted the start of a 13-region diplomatic tour, was fueled by local anger over American foreign policy. Protest organizers specifically cited ongoing US military strikes in Iran as a driving factor for regional energy inflation and working-class economic instability.
Demonstrators carrying inflatable beach toys marched behind a banner reading “Venezia non si USA” before engaging in minor scuffles with a double line of riot police, according to The Independent. Authorities established the police blockade at Riva dei Sette Martiri, roughly a kilometer from St. Mark’s Square, physically preventing the crowd from reaching Fertitta’s vessel, the Boardwalk.
Fertitta, a billionaire hospitality mogul appointed by the Trump administration, anchored the yacht in Venice to launch the “Freedom 250 Coastal Diplomacy Tour” commemorating the 250th anniversary of American independence. The vessel features two helipads, a spa, and swimming pools. Activists openly criticized the vessel as an arrogant display of American wealth in a city already straining under the pressures of mass tourism and rising living costs.
Protest organizer Stella Morion stated the mobilization was a direct response to foreign policy, pointing to US support for Israel’s military actions in Gaza alongside the Iranian conflicts. The protest tapped into a localized resentment regarding ultra-wealthy individuals disrupting the city center. Many of the activist networks involved on Friday previously mobilized against Jeff Bezos’s wedding to Lauren Sanchez in Venice last year.
The ambassador’s visit directly coincides with the city’s Festa del Redentore this weekend, an annual historic festival commemorating the end of a 1576 plague epidemic. Local authorities had already increased security measures across Venice’s waterways ahead of the festival before Friday’s maritime protests broke out.