A historic Rome piazza turned into a battle field Saturday as hundreds of protesters pelted veering police vans with rocks and bottles and police fired tear gas and water cannon jets into the crowd.
Groups of peaceful protesters could be seen huddling on the steps of St John Lateran basilica for shelter as the battle raged in front of them.
Adding to the chaos, the flow of traffic through the busy hub was not blocked off and cars could be seen driving chaotically through the square.
Stones were thrown at a Ferrari and a Mercedes that found themselves in the midst of the violence. Earlier, hooded protesters set several cars alight, smashing the windows of banks and shop windows.
“Shame! Shame!” some shouted at police, as others tried to make their way out of police lines around the square with their hands in the air.
“This is disgusting! It’s the government’s fault for forcing young people to act like this. They’ve left us without a choice,” said Laura, 23.
Nearby another protester, Roberto, said: “It’s unbelievable. The police have turned this into a riot. If they just held back we would protest peacefully.”
As the man in his 50s spoke to AFP, a group of protesters set light to a police van shortly after its two occupants ran from the vehicle. Between 200 and 300 riot police officers were then seen running from the square.
Elsewhere protesters ripped up paving blocks from the street and threw them at police. Others shouted “No to violence!” and tried to calm the situation.
The square in front of St John Latran — one of the oldest churches in Rome and a Vatican property — is the traditional scene for trade union rallies and concerts. Anti-capitalist protesters had been hoping to camp there.
Some of the protesters sought refuge inside the basilica itself.
“The violent protesters are a very organised group that infiltrated the demonstration,” Rome mayor Gianni Alemanno told reporters.
