rome —
About 300 demonstrators clashed with riot police in Venice on Friday night over the arrival of U.S. Ambassador to Italy Tilman Fertitta’s $450 million megayacht on the boardwalk during the annual Redeemer festival, police said.
Fertitta, a close ally and donor to US President Donald Trump, is cruising around Italy on a private yacht with his family and some staff this summer as part of what he calls “coastal diplomacy” to celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary, his social media reported.
In Venice, his arrival was welcomed by demonstrators who insulted Trump and held signs that read “Venice is not for sale.” Police were seen pushing back protesters who tried to approach the ambassador’s boat. Many held placards with pictures of Mr Trump, some threw pool toys at police and others used megaphones to insult the US government.
Daniele Giordano, Venice’s CGIL union secretary, told those gathered that it was a “shame” that Venice was welcoming Fertitta’s megayacht during the festival, and that its presence was “in direct contrast to our ideas about environmental and social sustainability.”
“It’s almost strange that we have to work so hard to make people understand that this city is not for sale. Just like any other city where people are struggling just to actually live, it’s a city that is constantly being emptied of space, housing, public services and welfare, and is constantly being sold to billionaires,” one demonstrator, Emanuele Lepore, told Reuters.
Ambassador, whose net worth is listed by Forbes as just under $11 billion, owns casinos, sports teams and restaurants in the United States. Fertitta has said he personally paid for the yacht for his family and passengers, but neither the U.S. embassy nor Italian authorities have disclosed how much Italian taxpayers spent to provide the security needed to protect him and his entourage.
His plans include meeting with local business leaders, celebrities and Americans aboard the yacht at each of the 13 ports on the itinerary leading up to Labor Day, requiring extra security both on land and at sea.
His arrival in Venice ahead of one of the city’s most famous festivals rallied the same group of organized protesters who protested the multi-day high-profile wedding of Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos and former journalist Lauren Sanchez in the Lagoon City last summer, calling on supporters on social media to take action.
Adding insult to injury was the fact that Mr. Fertitta’s towering 117-meter (384-foot) yacht was anchored in front of a spot where Venetians would normally be able to view the impressive festival fireworks from the shore. The festival is held annually to celebrate the end of the plague outbreak in 1576, and involves thousands of people taking to boats and the city’s canals, culminating in a fireworks show over the city.
The U.S. embassy has not publicly commented on the protests, but a spokesperson for Italy’s foreign ministry said coastal diplomacy was working. It came amid tensions between the US president and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. President Trump doubled down on the feud last month, saying Meloni had requested to take a photo with him at the G7 in France.
Since Fertitta’s ambassadorship began in 2023, the yacht, which has twin helipads, has been moored in the port of Civitavecchia near Rome until recent weeks. Last summer, the ambassador and his family lived on a yacht while the official residence in Rome underwent renovations.
