Venice Activists Plan Protests Over Fertitta’s $450 Million Yacht Stop During July 18 Festival
Updated
Updated · The Daily Beast · Jun 25
Venice Activists Plan Protests Over Fertitta’s $450 Million Yacht Stop During July 18 Festival
1 articles · Updated · The Daily Beast · Jun 25
Summary
Laboratorio Occupato Morion is meeting this week to organize protests against U.S. ambassador Tilman Fertitta’s planned Venice stop during the Festa del Redentore on July 18-19.
The group says Fertitta’s 380-foot, six-deck superyacht Boardwalk would flaunt extreme wealth in a city already struggling with housing pressure and overtourism.
Possible actions include marches, bridge banners and canal blockades, while organizers also question where a vessel that size could moor because some waterways close for the festival.
Venice is still sensitive after Jeff Bezos’s roughly $50 million, 200-to-250-guest wedding drew major protests last year over the city’s use as a backdrop for elite events.
The stop also lands amid tension in U.S.-Italy relations after Trump’s public clash with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, though Fertitta has called that dispute only a "small hitch."