Italy's cost-of-living protests turn violent in Milan, Turin, and Bologna

Violent protests over the cost of living erupted into urban guerrilla warfare across Italian cities on Sunday, with Milan's Piazza del Duomo besieged by hundreds of masked youths who forced police to retreat under a hail of firecrackers, barricades, and bottles. Clashes also broke out in Turin, Bologna, and Bergamo. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the violence, stating that while protesting is a right, setting cities ablaze is not, and urged opposition parties to avoid ambiguity. Deputy premiers Antonio Tajani and Matteo Salvini echoed this, with Salvini blaming social centers and "rotten leftist scum." Milan's mayor Giuseppe Sala called the protest's grievances understandable but the violence unjustifiable, urging political wisdom over exploitation. Authorities reported at least four injured officers and 20 wounded protesters in Milan alone, with over 50 young people detained, half of them minors. Police said the rioters, many of foreign origin but equally many Italian, self-organized from peripheries and other provinces, overwhelming the main demonstration organized by "Italia in piazza." In Turin, organizers failed to prevent hooded infiltrators from taking over, and in Bologna, clashes centered near the station.