Italian authorities take drastic action over 'Goddess of the Night' cruise ship housing cops protecting Biden and G7 leaders that was filled with broken toilets and leaking sewage
- G7 leaders staying at Borgo Egnazia, which hosted Justin Timberlake's wedding
- Unions complained cruise ship housing police has torn mattresses and flooding
President Biden and G7 leaders are set for a dream experience in an ersatz medieval town on the Italian coast - but some of the cops guarding had a floating travel nightmare.
The roughly 2,000 carabonieri who are providing security for the conference were being crammed into a cruise ship called the Mykonos Magic, rechristened Goddess of the Night.
The ship has 'unusable toilets' due to sewage leaks, 'torn mattresses' and multiple signs of flooding, according to the union of the Italian finance ministry, which published a blistering statement about conditions.
Along with their complaints were pictures of toilets filled with brown water, along with stained carpeting, upended mattresses, and moldy bread, all part of a condition on ship that unions are calling indecent.
There are waste and other materials 'everywhere' according to the unions.
The ship is docked in Brindisi, where Biden is set to land Wednesday evening. The town is close by the luxurious faux medieval resort town where Biden will be staying.
That venue has hosted the likes of Justin Timberlake and Madonna, and features shimmering swimming pools lined with flowers and olive trees and featuring elegant daybeds.
The president will take in the tranquil setting along Italy’s prized Apulia coast while meeting with 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 nations will be gathering at Borgo Egnazia, the idyllic hotel estate on the Adriatic that hosted Justin Timberlake for his 2020 wedding to actress Jessica Biel.
Others who have taken in its bleached buildings surrounded by swimming pools have included Madonna and soccer David and Victoria Beckham.
Police unions complained about conditions aboard the Mykonos Magic, the ship where about 2,000 officers protecting President Biden and G7 attendees are being housed
A developer constructed the entire town, modeling it on a 15th century village. It features modern pools, rooms costing more than $500 per night, and views of olive groves, coastal scenes, and ‘farmhouse chic’ interior settings, with suites going for $2,000.
The total cost of the project was $160 million and took years to complete.
The financial status of the cruise ship that was being used for police is still in flux. The ship has been impounded; police said it had been seized on an order from prosecutors, with the Interior Ministry reserving the right to take legal action over the estimated $6.5 million lease, according to local Italian media.
DailyMail.com has reached out to the shipping company identified as being a party to the lease of the ship.
International press are staying in Bari, and will be bussed in for Biden's planned press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which just a pair of questions expected to go to each leader as they speak hours after a Delaware jury convicted Hunter Biden on a gun charge.
Biden’s two-day visit will also include a trip to the Castello Svevo, a medieval Norman-Swabian castle where guests are set to be greeted by Italian President Sergio Mattarella. Its origins date to the 9th Century.
The bucolic scenery will be a contrast to some of the grim issues that world leaders must navigate, from the war in Gaza that has taken thousands of lives, to Ukraine, where a new infusion of U.S. weapons has yet to stall Russian advancers.
The union complained about brown water aboard the ship
Photos posted by the union showed debris in the ship's hallways
In a country that boasts of its world-class cuisine, the police complained of moldy bread aboard ship
The Mykonos Magic cruise ship is docked in Brindisi , which is near where the G7 leaders are staying in Italy's Apulia region
A police union complained about the conditions aboard the ship, as well as limits on overtime and other concerns
Borgo Egnazia is an entire medieval-style town and cost $160 million to build. It played host to Justin Timberlake's wedding to Jessica Biel. It is hosting the G7 leaders
The first G7 dinner is set to be held at Castello Federiciano
If the president has any qualms about his security, he need only glance east across the Adriatic, where the U.S. Navy and allies are taking part in their days-long BALTOPS, a multinational exercise.
The USS New York, a San Antonio-class amphibious transport ship, and the Mount Whitney, a communications platform and the flagship of the 6th Fleet, are both offshore, a U.S. Navy spokesman told DailyMail.com.
Local Italian media even reported that Biden would overnight onboard a US naval vessel.
But an administration official told DailyMail.com that is not the case.
The Navy did confirm that the Mount Whitney and the U.S.S. New York, a landing dock ship, were both taking part in the exercises.
(Such an unusual accommodation 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 the heel of the boot of Italy comes after an extraordinary whirlwind week for a president who had his passport stamped many times over as vice president and as a former chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
He flew to France for the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, spoke about the supreme sacrifices of Army Rangers at Point du Hoc, then attended the lavish state dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron and French first lady Brigitte Macron.
Biden will join other leaders from the rich G7 highly industrialized nations
The president jets 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 Naval assets off the coast. the The flagship of the U.S. 6th Fleet and forward-deployed to Gaeta, Italy, USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) is in area waters
All roads lead to Apulia: The leaders gather in the Italian region at a time of tense global conflicts
Italy's Prime Minister and leader of the far-right party Brothers of Italy (Fratelli D'Italia - FDI) Giorgia Melonij will be hosting world leaders in her home country
Then Biden flew home to Wilmington and on to the White House for a few days before his return to the continent.
On Biden’s checklist: persuading other allies to go along with a plan to give Ukraine a $50 billion loan relying on interest from seized Russian assets as it fights to stop Moscow’s territorial gains around the besieged city of Kharkiv.
First lady Jill Biden clocked 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 footing part of the costs for the transcontinental detour.
This year’s summit comes after conservative parties gained influence in elections for the European Parliament, strengthening Meloni’s hand while prompting Macron to call for new parliamentary elections in France.
