MILAN — Protests against war and rising living costs took place in major Italian cities on Saturday, with some incidents of violence, a week after unrest erupted across the country, Reuters reported. Authorities deployed a heavy police presence and many shops closed as a precaution, Reuters said, adding that the demonstrations were violent in Turin, Rome and Bologna, with clashes between officers and demonstrators, and were largely peaceful in Milan.

Source: Reuters, Oct 24, 2026

In Bologna, clashes broke out between some demonstrators and police on Saturday evening, the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported: emergency medical services received 17 calls for assistance and six people were taken to hospital by ambulance, IANS reported, citing Xinhua. In Rome, demonstrators set off from Piazza della Repubblica on Saturday afternoon for an anti-war march, according to the ANSA news agency; clashes erupted in the city centre later in the evening, prompting police to use water cannons and tear gas. In Turin, demonstrators protesting mainly against increased military spending and rising fuel prices threw fireworks and bottles at officers, who responded by firing tear gas, IANS reported.

Source: IANS / Xinhua, citing ANSA and Corriere della Sera, Oct 25, 2026

Reuters witnesses did not observe any shops being looted or property vandalised on Saturday. Earlier on Saturday, Italian police said they had detained a person allegedly linked to organising the “October 17 Movement” — last weekend's protests — and had taken them to police headquarters in Milan for questioning, Reuters reported. After calls for further demonstrations circulated on social media this week, authorities made extensive security arrangements to prevent a repeat of last weekend's violence, when protesters fought with police, looted shops and vandalised property.

Source: Reuters, Oct 24, 2026

Following demonstrations that escalated into riots and looting last weekend, particularly in Milan, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi ordered additional police forces to be deployed across the country, focused particularly on major cities where the largest rallies were expected, IANS reported. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the violence in a social media post on Saturday evening: “Everyone's safety must be guaranteed: those who wish to demonstrate peacefully, those who work, and those who want to live in their cities without fear,” she said. “We must leave no room for those who seek nothing but confrontation and violence.”

Source: IANS / Xinhua, citing ANSA and Corriere della Sera, Oct 25, 2026