New Delhi, July 18 -- US Ambassador Tilman Fertitta arrived in Venice Thursday aboard his $450 million superyacht Boardwalk, sparking clashes between hundreds of protesters and riot police at St. Mark's Basin. The visit is part of a 13-stop "Coastal Diplomacy 250" tour of Italian coastal cities.

VENICE - Several hundred protesters threw beach balls and inflatable toys at riot police Thursday as Tilman Fertitta, Donald Trump's ambassador to Italy, moored his 117-metre superyacht at the edge of St. Mark's Basin, turning one of Europe's most celebrated harbours into a staging ground for the latest confrontation over American power abroad. It was a scene no embassy press release had anticipated.

The visit is part of a tour Fertitta's team h...