A wedding party of the founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, and journalist Lauren Sanchez in Venice this week was transferred to an isolated and less affordable part of the city for security reasons and to avoid the risk of protests, Fontes said.
The technology billionaire and his bride had reserved a place in Cannaregio to celebrate after marriage, a popular and central nightlife area, but the fear of demonstrations led to a change of plans, the sources added.
Wee weeks, some locals and groups have been complaining that the event will turn the city of gondolas and palaces into a private amusement park for the rich, and threatened to make peaceful blocks.
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Following the wedding ceremony, whose exact place and date remain secret, although it is expected to be between Thursday and Saturday, about 200-250 VIP guests in the world of the show, politics and finances will go to an Arsenale hall, a vast 14th century complex in the district of Castello, in the eastern city.
Surrounded by water and impossible to reach by land when connection bridges are erected, the hall is considered a safer place than the Cannaregio Scuola Great Misericordia, an ancient medieval religious school.
Originally a gigantic shipyard that served the Maritime Empire of the Republic of Venice, Arsenale was restored and converted into an exhibition space for the Venice Biennial Art Fair.
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Bezos, 61, executive president of the Amazon e-commerce giant and No. 4 on Forbes’s billionaires list, was groom of Sanchez, 55, in 2023, four years after the end of his 25-year marriage to Mackenzie Scott.
Their decision to marry in Venice follows other celebrity marriages in the city, such as that of US actor George Clooney with human rights lawyer Amaal Alamuddin in 2014.
“The news that Bezos has fled from Mercy is a great victory for us,” said Tommaso Cacciari, leader of the “No Space For Bezos” campaign (no space for bezos), which is leading the anti-sirping front.
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The group announced more protests for Saturday in the channels, bridges and narrow streets of Venice, promising to make the event a “nightmare” for Bezos and his guests.
Luca Zaia, president of the Veneto region, who comprises the city, criticized the protests, saying that 90 private jets that transport guests to nearby airports would bring up to 48 million euros to local companies.
