There are two possible lodging options for the G7 summit taking place this week in Puglia, southern Italy: one is a lavish resort with villas covered in bougainvillea and private pools, where Madonna and the Beckhams have vacationed and where singer Justin Timberlake and actress Jessica Biel got married.
The other was a massive ship with malfunctioning air conditioning equipment and water leaks that was docked off the shore of Brindisi, spitting dirt onto bedsheets.
The first is the opulent Borgo Egnazia, home to the heads of the biggest advanced economies in the world, including Justin Trudeau, Emmanuel Macron, Rishi Sunak, and Joe Biden.
In order to house the 2,600 police officers who were on duty for security, the second was brought in.
Their unions criticized it for having “inhumane” circumstances that were reminiscent of those found on former slave ships.
The Italian government reportedly paid €6 million (£5.07 million) for it; it has since been seized, and a fraud probe is underway.
Italy has two sides: the excellent and the bad.
Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister, will be showing off her shining first face this week when she greets world leaders and enjoys the beautiful Italian weather, in addition to her triumph in the European elections last weekend.
As her party, the far-right Brothers of Italy, which had become somewhat softer under her leadership, stormed to a resounding victory, she became the first leader in Western Europe to be reinforced by the referendum.
