Despite protests, McDonald's opens restaurant near the Vatican

The association feared the disappearance of “the identity of the area”, already affected by many cheap and fast food stores.

A McDonald's store opened near Vatican City and St. Peter's Square, despite opposition from several cardinals and restaurant owners in the neighborhood, AFP found.

“I am amazed that the Pope spoke out against multinationals and then rented a place from the Vatican!”, joked Angelo Tosti, owner of the “Marcella” trattoria, located across the street.

“It ruins the whole area,” he added.

Opened discreetly on Friday, the establishment of the American fast-food chain was already full this Tuesday.

The store occupies a small corner between a group of houses, rented by APSA, the administrator of Vatican properties. Many cardinals live in the group of houses and there are some embassies in the Holy See.

“Anyone who comes to Italy should eat food Italian and when comes Roma, Roman cuisine”, says Angelo, showing all the specialties on his menu, from pasta carbonara to Roman artichokes.

ADVERTISING

Portuguese Citizenship: get yours here

A Blessed Citizenship will help you in your conquest.

Request a quote

For Brooke, a young Australian tourist in a hurry, who has just left McDonald's with a “chicken burger” in a paper bag, “it's faster than at the trattoria and it's close to the tourist attractions!”

Protests reached a peak in October, driven by an association defending the historic neighborhood on the outskirts of the Vatican.

“It is a perverse and controversial decision,” said Cardinal Elio Sgreccia, in an interview with La Repubblica, a newspaper that estimates the rent at 30.000 euros.

According to the newspaper, another furious cardinal wrote to the pope to ask for his intervention in the case.

On Friday, Sister Francesca, who came from Liguria to do her shopping at a religious store, had not heard about the controversy.

“The young people like it”, he said in approval, considering that they can go before or after the visit to St. Peter's Basilica. “There are already a lot of trattorias,” he added.

McDonald's was unable to open a store in the famous Piazza del Duomo, in Florence at the end of 2016, because its project was denied by the mayor. Now, the multinational company is asking the city for around 18 million euros in damages.

By AFP