U.S. Navy and Embassy officials on Friday warned servicemembers and families to avoid certain areas of Italy due to demonstrations planned this weekend to protest President Bush’s visit.
Bush was expected to land late Friday in Rome, his first official trip to Italy in three years. He is slated to meet with Prime Minister Romano Prodi and Pope Benedict XVI. Bush was traveling to Rome after attending the Group of Eight summit in Germany.
Demonstrations are scheduled for Saturday in several areas of Rome, including Piazza del Popolo and through much of Rome’s center. A protest beginning at 3 p.m. in Piazza della Repubblica will travel along Via dei Fori Imperiali to Piazza Venezia and end in Piazza Navaona, according to a posting on the U.S. Embassy’s Web site.
Other spontaneous demonstrations could occur near the U.S. Embassy in Rome; at consulate buildings in Milan, Florence, and Naples; and at U.S. military bases and U.S.-affiliated commercial enterprises, according to an e-mail message sent Friday by Navy officials.
