ITALIAN police fired tear gas and a water cannon at dozens of protesters who threw firecrackers and tried to access a highway near a Winter Olympics venue on Saturday.

The confrontation came at the end of a peaceful march by thousands against the environmental impact of the Games and the presence of United States agents in Italy.

Police attacked demonstrators, who appeared to be trying to reach the Santagiulia Olympic ice hockey rink, after the skirmish. By then, the larger peaceful protest, including families with small children and students, had dispersed.

Earlier, a group of masked protesters had set off smoke bombs and firecrackers on a bridge overlooking a construction site about a half-mile from the Olympic Village that’s housing about 1,500 athletes.

Police vans behind a temporary metal fence secured the road to the athletes’ village, but the protest veered away, continuing on a trajectory toward the Santagiulia venue. A heavy police presence guarded the entire route.

The demonstration coincided with the US Vice-President JD Vance’s visit to Milan as head of the US delegation that attended the opening ceremony on Friday, where he was roundly barracked by the crowd.

The demonstration followed another last week when hundreds protested against the deployment of Immigration and Customs and Enforcement (Ice) agents by the US.

Official statements from the US said a small number of agents from Ice would be present in US diplomatic territory, and not operational on the streets.

The protests in Italy are part of a wider uprising by the Italian people.

Italy’s ports were brought to a standstill as dockworkers, students and unions launched a nationwide strike against war, rearmament and the militarisation of port infrastructure.

Massive protests erupted in Genoa and spread across key port cities, with demonstrators accusing European governments of prioritising military spending over public services.

The strike was part of a wider international action across 20 Mediterranean ports.