A statue honoring the late Pope John Paul II in central Rome was vandalized with anti-fascist graffiti and communist symbols following a pro-Palestine demonstration, sparking outrage across Italy’s political spectrum.
The monument, located in Piazza Cinquecento outside Rome’s Termini railway station, was defaced with the words “fascist shit” and spray-painted with the hammer and sickle symbol. Vandals also draped a traditional Palestinian keffiyeh around the statue’s neck.
The damage was discovered on September 26 by Italy’s Carabinieri police after a large pro-Palestine rally in the capital. The demonstration — one of several held across Italy that weekend — turned violent as hundreds of masked rioters clashed with law enforcement, set fires, and threw objects at police.
Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini condemned the vandalism, writing online, “Desperately seeking a brain for these poor imbeciles.” Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also issued a strong rebuke, saying: “They say they’re taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. An unworthy act committed by people blinded by ideology, demonstrating total ignorance of history and its protagonists.”
Pope John Paul II, born Karol Wojtyła, was neither a fascist nor a communist sympathizer. A survivor of Nazi-occupied Poland, he saved a Jewish woman during the Holocaust and later became a powerful spiritual force against Soviet communism. His leadership helped inspire democratic movements across Eastern Europe, contributing to the fall of the Iron Curtain.
According to Il Sole 24 Ore, at least 11 people were arrested and 262 others identified following Saturday’s riots. Authorities reported 35 police officers injured, prompting the use of water cannons to disperse the violent crowd.
Prime Minister Meloni praised police efforts, saying their “professionalism and courage represent an indispensable safeguard for the security of our nation.”
