Protesters Enter Rome Colosseum During Nationwide Demonstrations in Italy

Protesters briefly forced their way into the Colosseum in Rome on Saturday, October 24, during nationwide demonstrations across Italy that police said ended with nine arrests. A small group broke away from a larger march along Via Cavour and headed for the Flavian Amphitheatre, according to Euronews, citing accounts of the march in the capital. Once inside, the demonstrators held up placards and chanted slogans before security personnel escorted them out of the ancient monument.

Arrests and checks across eight cities

The Department of Public Security said nine people were arrested nationwide, 87 were reported to law enforcement, and 371 people were brought to police stations for background checks. Of the people taken in for checks, 110 were minors and 69 were foreign nationals, Euronews reported, citing the department. Police said the protests took place in eight cities on Saturday. Italian police also said they had arrested a 30-year-old man suspected of being the figure behind the October 17 Movement, a group that had called for the protests, according to the Associated Press.

Costs, services and Gaza drove the turnout

The protests drew their force from anger over surging living costs, failing public services and the war in Gaza, the Associated Press reported. Crowds carried banners that read "No to lies of the state" and shouted insults at the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. A newly formed group calling itself the October 17 Movement organized much of the turnout alongside student federations and grassroots unions. Saturday stayed calmer than the previous week, when looting tore through northern cities.

Soldiers on the streets of Milan

In Milan, the government sent 500 soldiers into the streets and posted paratroopers around the Duomo cathedral, the Associated Press reported. Luxury boutiques boarded up their storefronts a week after looting, while other shops stayed open after Mayor Giuseppe Sala urged the city not to panic. "We want to give the message that we are not scared by these kids," said Alessandro Buhne, 30, who works at a menswear shop in the city. Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said the soldiers could use only plastic restraint ties, and only near train stations. Meloni announced measures that included sending the additional soldiers to Milan and tougher penalties for minors.

Tension in Florence, Bologna and Turin

Moments of friction broke out toward the evening in several cities. In Florence, tensions rose near the Santa Trinita bridge as marchers tried to breach a police blockade, and security forces held their line and used batons to push back the crowd, Euronews reported. In Bologna, security forces used tear gas and water cannons after protesters threw bottles and other objects when their march was stopped from continuing toward Via Marconi and Via Reno, and one person was hospitalised after being struck during the events. In Rome, footage showed a young demonstrator standing in front of a moving police water cannon truck before officers intervened. Scattered confrontations also broke out in Turin.

Government praises the police response

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said police "managed to isolate and contain the violent fringes, with balance and professionalism," according to the Italian news agency ANSA. "In Italy there can be no room for those who delude themselves that they can act with impunity," he said. Meloni commended law enforcement personnel on Saturday for maintaining public order and protecting the right to peaceful protest, and she thanked police, prefects and questors for their coordination of security operations.