Movement born from the Milan riots cancels its announced rally locations, as authorities from Milan to Bari prepare for unauthorised rallies and the government’s new security decree takes effect.Demonstrations are expected in Milan, Rome, Bologna, Bari and other Italian cities on Saturday 24 October, but where many of them will take place remains unknown.The Movimento 17 Ottobre, formed after last weekend’s disorder in Milan, has withdrawn its announced rally points and said it will name the real ones at the last minute. Under the plan, three meeting points will be announced in each city at 14.30. Participants are asked to head for the nearest, and a single final destination will be revealed at 15.30. "No advance location, no tip-offs, no cordon," the movement wrote on social media. The original appointments, including Piazza Duomo in Milan, the Circus Maximus area in Rome, Piazza Nettuno in Bologna and Piazza Umberto in Bari, have been cancelled. The movement describes itself as "fluid"."You militarise the squares, we change them at the last minute," it said. The rallies will not be notified to the police, which raises the risk of disorder. How it began On 17 and 18 October, hundreds of young people, many of them minors and summoned via social media, damaged and looted shops in central Milan and, to a lesser extent, in other cities. More than 300 people were detained in Milan, and about 50 were arrested. Within days, the government responded with a new security decree. It creates an offence of organised violence at demonstrations, extends preventive detention and sends 500 more soldiers to Milan. Undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano said the decree would be fully operational from Saturday. The movement calls it “an authoritarian fist” against dissent and says it prompted the change of tactics.  Authorities on alert nationwide Prefectures are drawing up public order plans in every area at risk. Officials also fear fake calls to protest, designed to distract police and leave other targets exposed. Interior minister Matteo Piantedosi said all police operations had been reinforced, "Rome first" among the cities of concern, and that the authorities were "fairly confident". On Friday, police searched homes in 18 cities, targeting around 100 people identified in last weekend’s disorder, 51 of them minors. In Bari, a group allegedly planning to loot shops was identified. In Turin, where an anti-rearmament march was announced without notifying police, the prefect banned glass bottles and cans, and the carrying of masks, helmets and balaclavas, in designated areas. Florence authorities agreed a coordinated monitoring plan. In Rome, police plan a “saturation” of the centre, with checks on the metro and on roads into the city, backed by drones and helicopters. Photo credit: ceradapi / Shutterstock.com

Demonstrations are expected in Milan, Rome, Bologna, Bari and other Italian cities on Saturday 24 October, but where many of them will take place remains unknown. The Movimento 17 Ottobre, formed after last weekend’s disorder in Milan, has withdrawn its announced rally points and said it will name the real ones at the last minute. Under the plan, three meeting points will be announced in each city at 14.30. Participants are asked to head for the nearest, and a single final destination will be revealed at 15.30. "No advance location, no tip-offs, no cordon," the movement wrote on social media. The original appointments, including Piazza Duomo in Milan, the Circus Maximus area in Rome, Piazza Nettuno in Bologna and Piazza Umberto in Bari, have been cancelled. The movement describes itself as "fluid".

"You militarise the squares, we change them at the last minute," it said. The rallies will not be notified to the police, which raises the risk of disorder. On 17 and 18 October, hundreds of young people, many of them minors and summoned via social media, damaged and looted shops in central Milan and, to a lesser extent, in other cities. More than 300 people were detained in Milan, and about 50 were arrested. Within days, the government responded with a new security decree. It creates an offence of organised violence at demonstrations, extends preventive detention and sends 500 more soldiers to Milan. Undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano said the decree would be fully operational from Saturday. The movement calls it “an authoritarian fist” against dissent and says it prompted the change of tactics.  Prefectures are drawing up public order plans in every area at risk. Officials also fear fake calls to protest, designed to distract police and leave other targets exposed. Interior minister Matteo Piantedosi said all police operations had been reinforced, "Rome first" among the cities of concern, and that the authorities were "fairly confident". On Friday, police searched homes in 18 cities, targeting around 100 people identified in last weekend’s disorder, 51 of them minors. In Bari, a group allegedly planning to loot shops was identified. In Turin, where an anti-rearmament march was announced without notifying police, the prefect banned glass bottles and cans, and the carrying of masks, helmets and balaclavas, in designated areas. Florence authorities agreed a coordinated monitoring plan. In Rome, police plan a “saturation” of the centre, with checks on the metro and on roads into the city, backed by drones and helicopters. Photo credit: ceradapi / Shutterstock.com