Ms Toninelli said protesting Bezos' lavish wedding would bring attention to the wider problems facing her city and its fragile lagoon.

As local housing is replaced by holiday rentals, Venetians have left the city in droves. According to local activist group Ocio, in 2023 the number of tourists surpassed that of residents for the first time.

Its current population is just under 49,000, versus 175,000 in 1950.

Last year the city introduced an entrance fee for day trippers on peak dates. Mayor Brugnaro celebrated the scheme as a success, but opposition politicians argue it has not helped spread out the flow of tourists which flood Venice's narrow streets on a regular basis.

However, Ms Toninelli insisted she and other activists were not against the concept of tourism. "We also like travelling around the world. The problem here is not tourists - it's exploiting tourism and basing everything on it."

"We need to think about a post-tourism transition," she said, highlighting the need to move away from the concept of Venice as a stage for large, glitzy events.

"A city administration that puts residents - and not visitors - front and centre would be a good step forward."

Jeff Bezos' wedding is not the first large-scale celebration of this kind to take place in Venice.

In 2014 actor George Clooney married human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin in a glitzy affair that saw a host of celebrities descend on the Italian city's canals. There was no significant uproar against their event at the time.