The first of two protest marches scheduled for today in Milan against the eviction of the Leoncavallo social center began at 1:00 PM sharp.
The protesters marched chanting, "Inside the city of the masters, ten hundred thousand occupations."
At least 5,000 people joined the procession. Starting from Piazza Duca D'Aosta, it took Via Galvani towards Via Melchiorre Gioia and then towards Porta Venezia, where it will join the second procession, which departs this afternoon.
At Via Melchiorre Gioia, the protesters entered the Pirellino construction site, one of the projects at the center of the urban planning investigations, chanting slogans against the City of Milan and Manfredi Catella, a manager under investigation by the Milan Public Prosecutor's Office for alleged building violations. The peaceful and symbolic raid took place under the watchful eye of law enforcement, who were at the head and tail of the march .
Protesters climbed to the top of the construction site, above the large billboard at the intersection with Melchiorre Gioia, using the same construction ladders located nearby. Activists lit smoke bombs and threw firecrackers, while protesters in the streets, singing and dancing, called over loudspeakers from vans for "public spaces, not real estate speculation."
Shortly before 3:00 PM, the second march scheduled for the day set off from Porta Venezia . The protesters will march through the city center to reach Piazza Fontana.
The protesters, however, are aiming to reach Piazza Duomo, despite the fact that the police were notified of the ban this morning.
Leading the march, which already numbers thousands, is a banner reading 'Hands off the city,' followed by the anti-fascist mothers of Leoncavallo, including the association's president, Marina Boer.
Among the banners, one reads, "Leoncavallo the alternative dream" and "Against the masters of the city, Leoncavallo 50 years again."
Among the politicians marching were Nicola Fratoianni, leader of the Italian Left, and Alessandro Capelli, secretary of the Milan Democratic Party, as well as Primo Minelli, president of the Milan branch of the National Association of Partisans (ANPI).
