An Italian man eluded Vatican security and climbed the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica this week to protest economic reforms that Italy has passed to combat its debt crisis.
Marcello De Finizio, owner of a beach-front concession and restaurant in Trieste, climbed the dome Tuesday evening.
He unfurled a hand painted sign reading: “Help! Enough with (Prime Minister Mario) Monti, Enough with Europe, Enough with Multinationals!” — referring to President Mario Monti, the architect of Italy’s economic reforms.
De Finizio came down on Wednesday after a 24-hour protest.
”I am not a crazy who wants to kill himself,” De Finizio told a television channel from his perch. ”So far there have been only promises, they have only made cuts.”
”I have spoken by phone with some ministers, but I won’t get down to receive only a pat on the back and a kick in the behind, like always,” he said.
Italian media reported that De Finizio spent three nights on a 70-meter tall metal structure in Trieste earlier this year in a similar anti-reform protest.
He demanded that officials hold talks with the owners of Italian beachfront concessions to discuss government reforms that will force auctions for existing establishments and limit the length of the licenses.
Sources