Colleen Barry
VENICE, Italy (AP) — Several hundred protesters marched Friday against the arrival of the billionaire U.S. ambassador’s luxury yacht in Venice, clashing briefly with riot police as they approached the vessel.
Activists have described the arrival of hotel magnate Tilman Fertitta as an unwanted display of American wealth and influence at a time when many Italians see the Trump administration upending the post-World War II international order.
Protesters clashed with police, shouting “Shame!”
They marched with inflatable water toys and beach balls under a sign that read: “Venezia non si USA,” a play on words meaning “Venice cannot be used,” with the acronym USA capitalized.
Protesters raised their hands to show they were peaceful as they reached double lines of riot police blocking access to the superyacht, but police pushed them back with shields when demonstrators refused to stop. Inflatable toys flew through the air. After the clash, protesters shouted “Shame!” from the ambassador, the mayor and the police.
A poster protesting the presence of US Ambassador Tilman Fertitta’s Boardwall superyacht hangs on a wall in Venice on Friday, July 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
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A poster protesting the presence of US Ambassador Tilman Fertitta’s Boardwall superyacht hangs on a wall in Venice on Friday, July 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
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Coastal diplomacy on board a superyacht
Fertitta arrived in Venice earlier Friday, docking at St. Mark’s Basin as part of a coastal diplomacy tour to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence. Police boats were stationed around his yacht, dwarfing the buildings along the lagoon’s shores, and the demonstrators were accompanied by a large number of police who carried signs that read “Make America Read Again” and “Oligarch in Saora” – a reference to the Venetian specialty of sardines.
The so-called Coastal Diplomacy 250 trip through 13 Italian coastal regions on a superyacht is meant to celebrate “our shared history, our economic partnership and the cultural ties that make the US-Italy relationship so special,” Fertitta said in a social media post.
Fertitta declined an interview request to discuss the tour and the planned protest, but issued a short statement in support of the right to protest.
“I like the Italians, we Americans respect freedom of speech and the right to peaceful protest; Coastal Diplomacy celebrates the founding of our nation and these fundamental rights,” Fertitta said in a statement, adding that the tour “was an amazing way for me to meet Italians of all walks of life and celebrate 250 years of American independence and decades of friendship with Italy.”
Venice regroups against oligarchs
In Venice, many of the same groups that protested the wedding of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez last year mobilized against Fertitta’s arrival aboard the 117-metre (384-foot) luxury yacht Boardwalk, which has two helipads, a pair of swimming pools and a full spa and gym.
On July 4, protest organizers unfurled a banner the length of Fertitta’s yacht to illustrate what protesters called “the extent of his arrogance.”
“It’s arrogant to think he can do what he wants in a city that is increasingly leaning toward a single tourism culture,” organizer Stella Morion told The Associated Press. She said protesters also oppose President Donald Trump’s international policies, including U.S. strikes on Iran, which she said have triggered a surge in energy prices.
“This is just another slap in the face to the city and all the residents of Venice who are struggling to make it to the end of the month due to rising prices caused by Trump’s war,” she said.
Protesters were stunned by the sight of the yacht, which was six stories taller than neighboring buildings. “It’s disgusting,” said activist Tommaso Cacciari.
Emanuele Lepore, another activist, said the presence of the towering yacht made him “above all angry” after a long fight to ban cruise ships from the Giudecca Canal and the historic center.
“It’s a shame to see that such a large ship could remain in the Venice lagoon,” Lepore said. “The idea is pretty clear: in order for new oligarchs to travel and normalize war and fascism, there must be local oligarchs.”
Hospitality tycoon with Italian roots
The billionaire owner of Fertitta Entertainment was sworn in as ambassador to Italy in 2025. He made his fortune in the hospitality industry, including restaurants, hotels and casinos. He also owns the NBA team the Houston Rockets. His official biography estimates his wealth at $11.3 billion and notes that Forbes ranked him among the 100 richest Americans.
Details of who Fertitta will meet in Venice have not been released, but on Saturday he is expected to attend the famous Redentore festival, which commemorates the end of the plague in 1576, culminating with a fireworks display over St Mark’s Basin.
He had already stopped in the Sicilian port city of Cefalu, where his family’s roots go back to 1566, and met with the governor in Palermo. Other stops included the Calabrian port of Le Castella, and he sailed along the coast of Puglia and along the Adriatic coast on his way to Venice.
Political analyst Giovanni Orsina said the image of an ambassador sailing down the Italian coast in an act of diplomacy was “quite new”.
“Of course, an ambassador using his own resources and his own yacht to carry out this kind of traveling diplomacy, as far as I know, is quite unusual. It could be perceived on the one hand negatively, but it could also be perceived as a sign of attention to the country,” said Orsina, head of the political science department at Rome’s Luisa University.
Fertitta’s tenure has included a cooling of once-cordial relations between Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Trump, who has launched a series of attacks on her on social media. Meloni, once considered a close political ally in Europe with similar views on issues such as immigration, was not present at the 250th anniversary celebration at the U.S. Embassy.