A Sea of Palestinian Flags as Rome Rises against the Genocide in Gaza

 By Romana Rubeo

Over million marched in Rome against the genocide in Gaza. (Photo: Emanuele Nuccilli, The Palestine Chronicle)

From Porta San Paolo to Piazza San Giovanni, over a million people marched through Rome in a powerful show of solidarity with Gaza and defiance against Italy’s complicity.

What began as a week of strikes and student mobilizations across Italy culminated on Saturday in one of the largest demonstrations the country has seen in decades. 

According to the organizers, more than a million people poured into the streets of Rome to denounce the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the complicity of the Italian government, transforming the capital into a sea of Palestinian flags.

From early morning, trains and buses arriving from Milan, Naples, Bologna, and Palermo were filled with demonstrators carrying banners and keffiyehs. 

Around 2:30 in the afternoon, the massive march began to move through the city. The march was so long that when its head reached Piazza San Giovanni, the historic heart of Italian protest movements, its tail was still in Porta San Paolo, around four kilometers away. By then, the square itself was completely flooded with red, white, green, and black.

The banners were as diverse as the crowd itself—hand-painted signs condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, denounced Italian officials for their silence, and celebrated the steadfastness of Palestinian resistance. 

Among the most visible were three bold declarations carried through the crowd: “Il proletariato internazionale unito contro le guerre del capitale” (“The international proletariat united against the wars of capital”); “Stop complicità con Israele. Contro occupazione e genocidio. Con la Resistenza palestinese” (“Stop complicity with Israel. Against occupation and genocide. With the Palestinian Resistance”); and “Cacciamo il governo complice del genocidio” (“Let’s oust the government complicit in genocide”).

The demonstration united students, workers, immigrants, and members of the Palestinian community, giving voice to a collective refusal of silence. 

“The struggle of the Palestinians is the struggle of us all,” declared a speaker from the SI COBAS bloc, a union known for its organizing among logistics and factory workers. Around him, Italian and immigrant workers marched together under the same principle—justice as a shared cause, not an act of charity.

Throughout the week leading up to the protest, Italy had already witnessed a wave of labor actions that disrupted transportation, schools, and public services. 

On Friday, unions including USB and CGIL joined SI COBAS in calling for a general strike against both Israel’s crimes and the Italian government’s open support for them. A previous general strike, on September 22, had already brought the country to a complete standstill.

As demonstrators reached Piazza San Giovanni, the atmosphere was charged with energy, not despair. 

Drums echoed, students chanted, and Palestinian families waved flags high above the crowd. 

Meanwhile, reports emerged that Italian police had blocked several buses on the highway, preventing them from reaching the capital. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, in an apparent attempt to avoid the political storm, had quietly left Rome earlier in the day.

Despite these attempts at containment, the human “ocean” that filled the square made clear that solidarity cannot be policed. For days now, Rome has become one of the capitals of global solidarity, its historic square transformed into a living symbol of conscience and defiance.

(All Photos: Emanuele Nuccilli, The Palestine Chronicle)

– Romana Rubeo is an Italian writer and the managing editor of The Palestine Chronicle. Her articles appeared in many online newspapers and academic journals. She holds a Master’s Degree in Foreign Languages and Literature and specializes in audio-visual and journalism translation.