Albany Times Union

September 29, 1995

What a difference a country makes.

Gov. George Pataki, feted by his Hungarian hosts since Saturday, was greeted in Rome Italy late Wednesday night by about 30 protesters as he checked into his upscale hotel here.

the demonstrators, from Amnesty International and a fringe group called the Transnational Radical Party, were kept about 20 yards away from Pataki by Rome police at the Excelsior Hotel.

"This city subscribes to a campaign against the death penalty," said Sandra Stoller, a Rome resident. Rome mayor Francesco Rutelli is also a member of the anti-death penalty campaign, and is expected to bring his objections up with Pataki regarding New York's capital punishment law in a meeting scheduled for today.

"We're here to say to Pataki, welcome to a death-abolition country," said Alessandra Filograno,a Trans-National member. "Pataki is in Italy to discover his origin. We say if you have Italian roots, you must agree with us."