President Biden and the leaders of the G7 are set for a dream experience in a medieval town on the Italian coast – but some guards had a floating travel nightmare.
The approximately 2,000 carabonieri providing security for the conference were packed into a cruise ship called the Mykonos Magic, renamed Goddess of the Night.
The ship has “unusable toilets” due to sewage leaks, “torn mattresses” and multiple signs of flooding, according to the Italian Finance Ministry union, which published a blistering statement on the conditions.
Along with their complaints were photos of toilets filled with brown water, along with stained carpeting, upturned mattresses and moldy bread, all part of a condition on board that unions call indecent.
According to the unions, there is waste and other materials ‘everywhere’.
The ship is docked in Brindisi, where Biden will land on Wednesday evening. The city is close to the luxurious medieval seaside resort where Biden will stay.
That location has host, among others Justin Timberlake And Madonna, and features sparkling pools lined with flowers and olive trees and with elegant sunbeds.
The president will enjoy tranquil surroundings along Italy’s prized Apulia coast as he meets G7 leaders, just days after attending a lavish state dinner while being hosted by President Emmanuel Macron and French first lady Brigitte Macron.
Leaders of the rich industrial countries will gather at Borgo Egnazia, the idyllic hotel estate on the Adriatic Sea that hosted Justin Timberlake for his 2020 wedding to actress Jessica Biel.
Others who have admired the bleached buildings, surrounded by swimming pools, include Madonna and football’s David and Victoria Beckham.
Police unions complained about conditions aboard the Mykonos Magic, the ship that houses about 2,000 officers protecting President Biden and G7 attendees
A developer built the entire city, modeled on a 15th-century village. It features modern pools, rooms that cost more than $500 a night, and views of olive groves, coastal scenes and “farmhouse-chic” interiors, with suites priced at $2,000.
The total cost of the project was $160 million and took years to complete.
The financial status of the cruise ship used for law enforcement is still in flux. The ship has been seized; Police said it was seized on the orders of prosecutors, with the Interior Ministry reserving the right to take legal action against the estimated $6.5 million lease, according to local Italian police. media.
DailyMail.com has contacted the shipping company identified as a party to the lease of the vessel.
The international press is staying in Bari and will be brought in for Biden’s planned news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is expected to send just a few questions to each leader as they speak, hours after a jury in Delaware convicted Hunter Biden on weapons charges.
Biden’s two-day visit also includes a trip to the Castello Svevo, a medieval Norman-Swabian castle where guests will be greeted by Italian President Sergio Mattarella. Its origins date back to the 9th century.
The rural landscape will contrast with some of the grim issues world leaders must grapple with, from the war in Gaza that has cost thousands of lives to Ukraine, where a new infusion of US weapons has yet to halt Russia’s advance.
The union complained about brown water on board the ship
Photos posted by the union showed debris in the ship’s corridors
In a country that prides itself on world-class cuisine, police complained about moldy bread on board
The Mykonos Magic cruise ship is docked in Brindisi, close to where the G7 leaders are staying in Italy’s Apulia region
A police union complained about conditions aboard the ship, as well as restrictions on overtime and other concerns
Borgo Egnazia is a completely medieval city and it cost $160 million to build. It hosted Justin Timberlake’s wedding to Jessica Biel. It hosts the leaders of the G7
The first G7 dinner will take place at Castello Federiciano
If the president has any doubts about his security, he need only look east across the Adriatic Sea, where the US Navy and allies are participating in their days-long BALTOPS, a multinational exercise.
The USS New York, a San Antonio-class amphibious transport, and the Mount Whitney, a communications platform and flagship of the 6th Fleet, are both offshore, a US Navy spokesperson told DailyMail.com.
Local Italian media even reported that Biden would spend a night aboard a US Navy ship.
But a government official told DailyMail.com that this is not the case.
The Navy did confirm that the Mount Whitney and the USS New York, a landing dock ship, both participated in the exercises.
(Such an unusual adjustment would raise the delicate question of where to even place a White House press pool of reporters who follow the president wherever he goes.)
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Biden’s trip to Italy’s heel comes after an extraordinary whirlwind week for a president whose passport was stamped many times as vice president and as former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
He flew to France for the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, spoke about the greatest sacrifices of Army Rangers at Point du Hoc and then attended the lavish state dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron and French first lady Brigitte Macron.
Biden will join other leaders from the wealthy, highly industrialized countries of the G7
The president is flying to Italy after spending five days in France
Fit for a president: Administration officials torpedoed an Italian media report that Biden would sleep aboard one of the Navy’s offshore assets. The flagship of the US 6th Fleet and forward deployed to Gaeta, Italy, USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) is in area waters
All roads lead to Apulia: leaders gather in the Italian region at a time of tense global conflict
Italian Prime Minister and leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy (Fratelli D’Italia – FDI) party Giorgia Melonij will receive world leaders in her home country
Biden then flew to Wilmington and to the White House for a few days before returning to the continent.
On Biden’s checklist: Convince other allies to agree to a plan to give Ukraine a $50 billion loan, contingent on interest from seized Russian assets, as the country fights for Moscow’s territorial gains around the besieged city to stop Kharkov.
First lady Jill Biden logged even more miles, flying home to attend stepson Hunter Biden’s criminal trial in Wilmington on gun charges, then flying back to Paris for the state dinner, with the DNC covering some of the costs for the transcontinental detour took on.
This year’s summit comes after conservative parties gained influence in European Parliament elections, strengthening Meloni’s hand and pushing Macron to call new parliamentary elections in France.