Riots in Italy: Day of Protests Ends with Nine Arrests and Nearly 5,000 Checks

The second wave of protests in a week brought Italy fresh clashes between youths and police on Saturday, though this time without the looting that occurred the previous weekend. According to the Department of Public Safety within the Ministry of the Interior, nine people were arrested nationwide and 87 were charged. A total of 371 people were taken to police stations, including 110 minors and 69 foreign nationals. In all, law enforcement officers identified 4,292 individuals. Late in the evening, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi thanked the security forces.

The call had been issued by the „Movimento 17 ottobre,“ a group named after the Riots on October 17 and 18 in Milan An Instagram page was created, which has since been announcing protests every Saturday against the cost of living, military buildup, and the government. The meeting locations were to be announced at 2:30 p.m., with three locations per city. According to Tgcom24, the call to action circulated beforehand included a dress code specifying safety goggles, a keffiyeh, a hoodie, and oven mitts; instructions with tips on how to deal with tear gas were also circulating in Telegram chats. The authorities interpreted this as preparation for confrontation. Speaking in Naples, Piantedosi mentioned 150 house searches on Friday and Saturday. Security measures were stepped up accordingly in the cities: In Milan, according to Rainews, there were additionally 500 paratroopers More than 1,500 police officers are on duty in Rome.

Turin: Flares, barricades, and a burning photo of Meloni

The protest was most intense in Turin. Even before it began, the Carabinieri, police, and financial police had checked 302 people, 57 of whom had prior criminal records; six are under investigation for carrying dangerous objects or wearing masks. Thousands gathered in Piazza Castello, chanting slogans against Meloni and burning a large-format photo of the prime minister. When the crowd tried to push into Via Po, police held them back with shields and batons. A group of young people then attempted to reach the cathedral square; several sustained head injuries and were treated by other demonstrators, and two people were detained. In Piazzetta Reale, objects were thrown at the officers.

The police then redirected the march—which was protesting against military buildup, data centers, and gas prices—toward the northern part of the city. At the Ponte Mosca, participants fired flares and threw bottles; law enforcement responded with a massive use of tear gas. On Corso Principe Oddone, where the march attempted to break through toward Porta Susa Station, stones and bottles were once again hurled at a police cordon; water cannons and tear gas were deployed. According to Rainews, the march dispersed around 9 p.m. following bottle-throwing and the erection of barricades; an advance along Corso Vigevano and Piazza Baldissera toward the city center was repelled, and the organizers’ delivery van was also stopped. Exchanges of firecrackers and tear gas continued into the evening. The Questura’s report: 421 individuals identified, including 313 Italians and 108 foreigners; one arrest; 22 charges filed; and 27 people taken to the police station. Questore Massimo Gambino was personally present at Piazza Castello.

Rome: Colosseum stormed; water cannons deployed at Piazza Santa Susanna

In the capital, the authorized demonstration „Fuori l’Italia dalla guerra“ organized by the Asse antimperialista coalition, with several hundred participants, proceeded from Piazza della Repubblica to Via Cavour without incident; stores remained open. Afterward, a group broke away and marched toward the Colosseum, chanting „corteo, corteo.“ There, demonstrators—many of them students—pushed security forces aside, forced open the entrances, and entered the archaeological park as far as the Arch of Constantine. Riot police had attempted to block access but failed. The procession then tried to reach Termini Central Station via Via Merulana, Santa Maria Maggiore, and Via Giolitti, changing direction several times to bypass police cordons; the station closed its gates.

Around 7:30 p.m., the situation escalated at Largo di Santa Susanna as the march attempted to proceed toward the government buildings. After bottles were thrown, police deployed water cannons and tear gas and pushed the crowd back with baton charges; a young man lay down in front of the water cannon to block it and was pulled out and detained. About 1,000 people, mostly young, then stood for nearly an hour on Via Vittorio Emanuele Orlando facing the police, who had cordoned off Piazza della Repubblica and the Ministry of Economy. Firecrackers and smoke bombs were thrown, parked cars were damaged by kicks and blows, and further disturbances occurred on Via Volturno. A Rainews reporter noted a strong smell of hashish in the front rows. By evening, the Rome Police Headquarters (Questura) had counted 96 people taken to the station, including six minors, 28 preventive detentions, and 11 criminal complaints filed. Earlier that morning, police had checked more than 100 youths in the area around the Circo Massimo and Piazza della Repubblica; several were carrying balaclavas, spray cans, and tube scarves. The Carabinieri also arrested a man on an arrest warrant for property crimes.

Bologna: Rocks and Firecrackers, Water Cannons on Via Marconi

In Bologna, the afternoon began with about 100 people in Piazza del Nettuno, mostly activists from the Partito comunista rivoluzionario. By the time the march began, the crowd had grown to about 1,000. Several hundred confronted the police, chanting slogans against the officers and setting off firecrackers. After stones and firecrackers were thrown, the police deployed tear gas and a water cannon and cleared Via Marconi. A young man, with a visible bump on his forehead, told Sky TG24 that a police officer had struck him in the head despite his arms being raised; he said he had been neither masked nor dressed in black. This account could not be independently verified that evening. The Ministry of the Interior reported one complaint filed in Bologna and nine people taken to the police station.

Florence: Train blocked, then tram tracks occupied

In Florence, police had already taken about ten people wearing balaclavas to the station for identification that afternoon. According to Rainews, the march grew to about 2,000 participants and was held up for hours at the Ponte Santa Trinita because police had blocked off the luxury shopping street Via Tornabuoni from both sides. Glass bottles and firecrackers were thrown from the crowd, and one protester revved a chainsaw—without a blade—in front of the riot police. Around 9:30 p.m., about 200 demonstrators marched to the Santa Maria Novella train station and attempted to block the entrance; about 50 of them occupied the tram tracks on Via Valfonda, causing service to be suspended. Police and Carabinieri arrived in protective gear. The result: one criminal complaint filed, and 14 people taken to the police station.

Padua, Bergamo, Verona, Genoa, Naples

In Padua, the afternoon remained calm; in the evening, protesters attempted to occupy the train station and were stopped by riot police using water cannons. One protester threw an e-bike from the bridge onto the tracks, and firecrackers exploded. Four people were arrested, and four were charged; earlier, the Digos had intercepted four masked individuals at the Giardini dell’Arena. In Bergamo, authorities took 37 people to the police station—27 of whom were minors—and identified 485 others. In Verona, police picked up about 15 youths off the street—all second-generation Italians and mostly minors, some as young as 12 to 14 years old; according to the newspaper L’Arena, knives, chains, and firecrackers were found in their backpacks. In Genoa, about 300 youths marched through the old town, but the situation remained under control. Mayor Silvia Salis had previously called on people to demonstrate peacefully and in large numbers, saying that only a large turnout would make their voices heard. In Naples, more than 500 people marched to Piazza Municipio; in front of the headquarters of the shipping company MSC on Via De Pretis, there was a brief scuffle and two firecrackers were set off, which other demonstrators responded to with shouts of „Scemo, scemo.“ One person was arrested, and four were charged.

Milan: Large-scale demonstration, 10,000 participants, no looting

Milan, the scene of the riots from the previous weekend, was under close surveillance all day. Police, Carabinieri, financial police, and military personnel secured Piazza Duomo, Castello, Cadorna, Garibaldi, Piazza Oberdan, and Corso Buenos Aires; at Garibaldi Station, all young people were required to show their IDs. Anyone found wearing a balaclava or carrying potentially dangerous objects was taken to the Questura and held in preventive custody, as permitted by the latest security decree. The Ministry of the Interior reported 2,885 people identified in Milan, 167 individuals taken to the police station—including 56 minors and 43 foreign nationals—41 reports filed, and three arrests. According to the Carabinieri, two of these arrests involved Moroccan citizens with prior convictions who are alleged to have injured two compatriots with bladed weapons near a community center; the injured were taken to the hospital.

The feared riots did not materialize. Two marches—one from the Piccolo Teatro protesting rising prices and one from the Politecnico at Piazza Leonardo da Vinci with about 600 pro-Palestine activists—were initially kept separate; the police pushed the student march back on Corso Venezia, after which the two groups merged into a march of about 10,000 people, which proceeded back to the Politecnico without incident. At Piazza della Repubblica, a young man climbed a lamppost and, to applause, burned a banner belonging to the Lega, which is holding its party convention in Milan this weekend; other posters were defaced. A Carrefour supermarket on Via Gustavo Modena closed its doors as a precaution as the procession passed by; customers were stranded inside with their groceries; a bank’s facade was defaced with the words „Tax the rich.“ On Corso Vittorio Emanuele, a man carrying an Italian flag from a counter-demonstration attacked a young woman and verbally abused her. She was not injured.

Alleged Administrator of Instagram Page Identified

This morning, police found 30-year-old Youssef S. in an apartment in Milan; investigators believe him to be the founder and operator of the Instagram page „Movimento 17 ottobre.“ According to consistent reports, the man—who is registered as a resident of Mazzano near Brescia—is a second-generation Italian citizen with degrees in communication and political science from the University of Milan, a pro-Palestinian activist, and a freelance journalist. The Istituto per gli studi di politica internazionale clarified that he completed an internship there in 2024 and has not been affiliated with the institute since. According to Adnkronos, he wrote several articles for *Il Fatto Quotidiano* as an intern and one for *Il Foglio* four years ago.

The Digos searched his parents’ home in the Brescia area and the apartment of an acquaintance in Milan, seizing data storage devices. The Milan Public Prosecutor’s Office’s counterterrorism unit is investigating him as a suspect for incitement to commit crimes, aggravated by terrorist intent and the use of the Internet. According to Adnkronos, investigators reviewed the seized evidence that evening on behalf of the prosecutor’s office to facilitate a provisional arrest. Fanpage.it pointed out that responsibility for the website is not synonymous with responsibility for the violence that occurred the previous week. Piantedosi urged people to wait for the results of the investigation. Defense Minister Guido Crosetto stated on X that the man was not a social outcast, but rather someone with more opportunities for work and collaboration than most of his peers. The Lega reported that on October 7, 2023, the man had commented on posts by Matteo Salvini and Antonio Tajani with religious slogans; as of that evening, there was no independent confirmation of this.

Who is behind the riots?

The composition of the groups prone to violence remains a matter of debate. According to Open, following the riots in Milan on October 17, nine of the 16 people arrested were minors, and two of those stopped were 12-year-olds; many were children of immigrants, and almost all had no prior criminal records. Saturday’s figures paint a similar picture: 110 of the 371 people taken to police stations were minors; in Bergamo, 27 out of 37; and in Verona, 12- to 14-year-olds were held at the Questura with knives and chains in their backpacks. In Italy, the derogatory term „maranza“ has become established for these youths; it originates from Milanese slang and refers to groups of young men from the suburbs; italien.news has analyzed the debate „Who Can Stop Maranza?“ Salvini has been calling for days to fast-track an „anti-Maranza law.“ Piantedosi called the perpetrators from last week „professional rioters“ and emphasized that even being a minor does not protect one from punishment. The judges’ association ANM countered that the lack of prospects for young people cannot be resolved by harsher penalties alone.

The previous week had set the pattern: small groups of ten to twenty masked individuals stormed into stores, supermarkets, and sports shops on Via Torino, grabbed food and merchandise from the shelves, and disappeared. Retailers, who had been barricading their storefronts for days, and employees, who lost their Saturday pay, bore the brunt of the consequences. On Saturday, too, Milanese business owners had already closed their shutters by noon.

Government Responses

Late in the evening, Meloni wrote on X that the security forces had ensured the safety of citizens despite attempts by some violent offenders. She stated that the right to protest must be protected just as much as the right to enjoy one’s own city without fear; the new measures allow for protest without reducing cities „to rubble and ashes.“ Piantedosi described it as an exceptionally grueling day and thanked the police, the Carabinieri, the financial police, the prison service, the army, the fire department, and the municipal police. The emergency services had isolated the violent fringe elements with discretion and competence and protected citizens from those who hid behind the right to demonstrate solely to engage in violence and disorder. In Italy, there is no place for people who believe they can act with impunity and outside the law. Meanwhile, the „Movimento 17 ottobre“ announced its intention to mobilize again this coming Saturday.

Background: The night of October 17–18

The series of incidents was triggered by the riots on October 17 and 18 in Milan, Turin, and Bologna. In Milan, masked individuals vandalized storefronts between Piazza Duomo, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, and Via Torino and looted, among other places, a Carrefour store, Foot Locker, Levi’s, and Decathlon. The Ministry of the Interior reported that on October 17, nationwide, 141 police officers were injured, 197 people were taken into police custody, 28 arrests were made, and 43 charges were filed. The following Sunday, another 160 youths turned themselves in at the Questura in Milan, about 80 of whom were minors. The Milan Public Prosecutor’s Office is investigating unknown suspects for vandalism and looting. As the Italian press commented in the days that followed, the Press Roundup from October 19 and in Press Roundup from October 24.