A man scaled St. Peter's Basilica on Tuesday in protest against the European Union and Prime Minister Mario Monti.
Reuters reported that the man, Marcello Di Finizio, who is Italian jumped "over railings near the top of the 137-m- (450- ft-) high dome on Tuesday afternoon, shocking visitors taking a tour. He then tied a cord to the railings and abseiled to a ledge over a window in the cupola."
On a ledge he took a banner that said, "Help!Enough Monti, Enough Europe! Enough Multinationals!". He then stayed on the ledge Tuesday night while police and firefighters tried to get him down.
The AP reported that Finizio refused to come down even when ministers offered to meet with him. He spent all day Wednesday protesting economic reforms.
In a surreal contrast, Pope Benedict XVI's regular papal audience - which draws tens of thousands of pilgrims on Wednesdays - went on as scheduled despite the protest taking place on the dome above.
He said to Sky24,"I am not a crazy who wants to kill himself. So far there have been only promises, they have only made cuts. I have spoken by phone with some ministers, but I won't get down to receive only a pat on the back and a kick in the behind, like always."
According to the AP, De Fininzio wanted officials to talk with owners of Italian beachfront consessions to "discuss government reforms that will force auctions for existing establishments and limit the length of the licenses."
The concessions covers more than 2,500 miles of Italian coastline. According to the AP he lost his restaurant in a fire and has not been able to get a loan in order to rebuild it.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
