Venice protest planned for US ambassador’s superyacht visit

There are fears the six-deck superyacht Boardwalk could blow views of an annual fireworks show. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images View image in fullscreen There are fears the six-deck superyacht Boardwalk could blow views of an annual fireworks show. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images Venice protest planned for US ambassador’s superyacht visit Activists aim to repeat disruption of Jeff Bezos’s wedding when billionaire Tilman Fertitta drops anchor Protesters in Venice are planning to disrupt a visit by the billionaire US ambassador to Italy in his 117-metre superyacht, which they fear he plans to dock in the lagoon city. “We ruined the party for Jeff Bezos’s wedding last year – this year let’s ruin the ambassador’s tour!” said Stella Faye, a 28-year-old researcher and activist, at a meeting of about 40 demonstrators on Thursday. In June last year, the ostentatious wedding of the Amazon founder and Lauren Sánchez was disrupted by Venetians protesting against what they saw as the takeover of their city by someone with enough money to do so. Now the ambassador Tilman Fertitta can expect a similar welcome after it was revealed he plans to visit Venice with his personal superyacht on 17 July as part of a cruise around Italy’s coastline to celebrate ties between Rome and Washington and the 250th anniversary of US independence – a tour he has called “Coastal Diplomacy 250”. One person suggested, to a round of laughter, “bringing back the crocodiles” – a reference to protesters’ threat last year to fill the canals with inflatable crocodiles, which forced the Bezos-Sánchez wedding reception to change venue at the last minute. Aerial map showing locations in Venice, including Grand Canal, St Mark’s Square, Punta della Dogana, Giudecca canal and Riva dei Sette Martiri. The most central spots for a boat the size of Fertitta’s Boardwalk are off the Punta della Dogana – in front of the Redentore church – or on the Riva dei Sette Martiri. Activists fear Fertitta plans to dock in the historical centre of Venice for the Festa del Redentore, one of the city’s most important traditions and arguably its biggest party. Held on the third weekend in July, it celebrates the end of a 16th-century epidemic of bubonic plague that killed more than 50,000 people in just two years (more than the current official resident count of the city). Every year, a temporary, floating bridge is built between the main island of Venice and the Redentore church on the island of Giudecca so Venetians can walk across the water to give thanks at the church. The main event is a spectacular firework display on the Saturday night, for which thousands of Venetians line the waterfronts and gather in boats in the Giudecca canal and in front of St Mark’s Square to watch the show. “Redentore is one of the few occasions that still belongs to the people of Venice,” Faye said. But Venetians could find their view somewhat obstructed this year. Fertitta’s yacht, Boardwalk, is a 32-metre-high, six-deck vessel