Florence is preparing for a demonstration announced for Saturday, October 24, by the newly emerged Movimento 17 ottobre as police monitor online calls for protests and investigate messages circulating across Tuscany.
The gathering is scheduled for 3pm in piazza Santa Maria Novella, according to announcements shared on social media. The movement has called for a nationwide “permanent mobilization against the government of the bosses”, with simultaneous initiatives announced in cities including Milan, Bologna, Turin, Rome, Padua, Bari and Genoa. However, reports published earlier this week said that no formal notification of the Florence demonstration had yet been received.
The announcement has prompted concern following protests in Milan and other Italian cities over the previous weekend, when demonstrations against the rising cost of living, fuel prices and taxation were marred by clashes with police, damage to shops and looting.
Florence mayor Sara Funaro has stressed that the right to demonstrate must be respected, while warning against violence. “Florence has always been a peaceful city, where everyone has been able to express their views freely,” she said. “We hope it continues to be so because we will not tolerate episodes of violence.”
