Overview
- Authorities said two pro-Palestinian groups, including one of about 15 people, were removed before reaching the relay route in Rome.
- Police monitored a separate group of around 10 waving PLO flags near La Sapienza University, and three people displayed pro‑Venezuela signs near the U.S. embassy.
- Olympic champion Gregorio Paltrinieri opened the relay at Rome’s Stadio dei Marmi, with the first day concluding in Piazza del Popolo.
- The relay spans 12,000 kilometers across all 110 Italian provinces, features 10,001 torchbearers, and is scheduled to reach Milan’s San Siro for the February 6 opening ceremony.
- Italy’s response reflects a year of large Gaza‑war demonstrations and protest-related disruptions at European sports events, including recent arrests at a UK soccer match and an Israeli team’s exclusion from an Italian race.