On June 20, around 5,000 people — unmasked and standing at close quarters — gathered in Florence’s historic Piazza Santa Croce to protest against the prospect of a Covid-19 vaccine. The rally had been organized by Il Movimento 3V, a political party dedicated to the abolition of mandatory vaccinations.

The independent MP Sara Cunial, told the crowd that she plans to refuse any coronavirus vaccine, should it become available, and accused the Italian government of attacking the constitutional rights of its citizens during the mandatory lockdown enforced in March and April.

“In these past months, but I’d say over recent years, what was attacked was much more than our constitutional rights,” she said. “Our human rights were attacked, our essential needs. They made us think that once more, by giving them the powers, we can accept leaving all of our sovereignty to these people, who I have, sadly, defined as criminals and thugs.”

Cunial, a leading voice in Italy’s vociferous anti-vaccination movement, was once an MP for the populist Five Star Movement. Last April, she was expelled from the party, which is part of Italy’s ruling coalition, for alleging that it is aiding the mafia.