Participants in the demonstration organized by social centers in the Northeast and the National Association of Italian Partisans (ANPI) that invaded the Venice Lido yesterday afternoon shouted to make the voice of the Palestinian people heard on the red carpet of the Venice Film Festival, "against the genocide perpetrated by the Israeli government."
On the march
A large turnout of people of all backgrounds and backgrounds, from Catholics to far-left youth, from the elderly to ordinary people. Five thousand, according to the organizers, were discreetly guarded by the impressive security measures put in place by the police headquarters in recent days.
The famous faces
Among them were well-known faces and some actors attending the Venice Film Festival on the Lido, including presenter Emanuela Fanelli, alongside Michele Riondino, who this morning sported the Palestinian flag on his phone cover. Then there were Lorenzo Zebetti, who appeared in Paolo Sorrentino's film La Grazia, Tecla Insolia, from the film Amata, Donatella Finocchiaro and Ottavia Piccolo, who lives on the Lido, and Loredana Cannata. Among the politicians were Luana Zanella, leader of the AVS group in the Chamber of Deputies, along with Nichi Vendola and Luciana Castellina. Vendola: "It is right and proper that during the days of the Venice International Film Festival, the world of art, culture, and beauty should rebel alongside the citizens of Venice and young people from across Italy against the human carnage currently taking place in Gaza. A terrorist state, a fascist government," Vendola continued, "are continuing with impunity in a carnage that is one of the most shameful pages in recent history. Stopping genocide is an absolute priority for all humanity."
The rally began in the Santa Maria Elisabetta square, the Lido vaporetto landing stage, where the motorboat chartered for the occasion also disembarked, its 700 seats sold out. Hundreds of paper boats were placed on the square's pavement, bearing the Palestinian flag. Leading the march was a banner reading "Stop genocide - Free Palestine from the river to the sea." The march's route was circular, along the Gran Viale and the Lungomare promenade, skirting the Festival grounds, before returning to the starting point. Along the way, speeches were given by various groups who had joined the initiative, as well as the testimony of a Palestinian woman and a doctor who had worked in Gaza.
