(Minghui.org) The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began persecuting Falun Dafa 26 years ago. Practitioners in Italy peacefully protested in the capital city of Rome on Saturday, July 5, 2025. They did the exercises, showed people how wonderful Falun Dafa is, and shared the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. They also raised awareness of the CCP’s persecution of Falun Dafa in China and called for it to end.

In 1992, Mr. Li Hongzhi introduced Falun Dafa and its core tenets of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to the public in China. Within a few years, the practice had attracted millions of people to cultivate, improving their moral standards and their health. By 1999, more than 100 million people were practicing Falun Dafa. The CCP responded by initiating a systematic campaign of persecution targeting the practice on July 20, 1999. The regime employed the entire state machinery and invested vast financial resources to persecute practitioners in ways that now includes harvesting their organs while they are still alive. 

Group Exercise at a Famous Landmark in Rome

Falun Dafa practitioners did the exercises at the famous Giardino degli aranci (Orange Garden) in Rome.

Located on a hill in the center of Rome, the Giardino degli aranci is renowned for its views of the remains of the Roman Empire and is a popular destination for tourists and local residents. In this quiet and peaceful setting, practitioners did the exercises and told visitors about Falun Dafa. Their graceful movements and the calming music attracted passersby to stop and watch. Many of them asked practitioners for more information about Falun Dafa.

Doing the exercises at the Giardino degli aranci on July 5

Peaceful Protest

Practitioners also held a peaceful protest that afternoon at the Piazza Trilussa in Rome to call for an end to the persecution. Tourists and Romans alike gathered under the shade of the trees around the wide piazza to escape the summer heat and relax.

Practitioners peacefully protested at the Piazza Trilussa to call for an end to the persecution of the practice in China.

Practitioners read speeches condemning the CCP’s brutality and called for an end to the persecution.

Passersby were drawn by the banners that read “End the Persecution of Falun Dafa Immediately,” “Falun Dafa Is Good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance Is Good,” and “Stop the CCP’s Forced Organ Harvesting of Falun Dafa Practitioners.”

Several people asked practitioners to teach them the exercises. Others commented on the necessity for the event and said they thought the practitioners were courageous for exposing the persecution and hoped that it would end soon.

Pietrangelo Massaro, vice president of the Rome City Council, participated in the protest and supported practitioners’ efforts to end the persecution.

Pietrangelo Massaro (third from the right), vice president of the Rome City Council, with practitioners at the event