Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez have been pictured arriving in Venice ahead of their blockbuster wedding.
The multi-billionaire Amazon founder, 61, was seen stepping off a boat alongside his glamorous girlfriend, 55, at the Aman Hotel earlier today.
Both waved to onlookers and paparazzi as they clambered off a boat onto a purpose-built jetty outside the hotel before quickly being whisked away. They were later snapped flashing smiles as they stood beside a helicopter.
The tech magnate and journalist have reportedly invited about 200 guests to their multi-million dollar nuptials in the Italian city.
Around 90 private jets are set to land in local airports this week, bringing A-listers from show business, politics and finance to the widely-dubbed ‘wedding of the century’.
The celebrations are expected to kick off on Thursday and end on Saturday.
But the historic venue that Bezos and Sanchez chose for part of their $20 million bash is covered in scaffolding, MailOnline can reveal.
The lavish three-day event will feature a party held within the fabulous 15th-century Madonna dell’Orto church in Venice’s quaint Cannareggio district tomorrow night.
Venice City Hall issued a directive on Wednesday cordoning off the area, isolating guests from activists who have been protesting for weeks that the celebrations will turn the city of gondolas and palazzi into a private amusement park for the rich.
Bezos, who remains the executive chair of e-commerce giant Amazon and sits at number 4 on Forbes’ billionaires list, got engaged to Sanchez in 2023, four years after the collapse of his 25-year marriage to Mackenzie Scott.
In preparation, security guards have now blocked off entrances to the closure where the party will be held, but what guests will first see when they arrive is the iconic bell tower covered in scaffolding.
This has left locals speculating that Bezos may have booked the venue based on seeing pictures on Google without realising it is being repaired.
The revelation comes just a day after MailOnline revealed how a careless wedding organiser had unwittingly leaked sensitive details of the VIP event to the media by being photographed carrying a printed guest list.
Meanwhile, the fact that the huge wedding is taking place in one of the world’s most vulnerable heritage sites has become so controversial that it is being angrily discussed in Italian parliament.
This controversy intensified overnight as council chiefs ordered the blocking off of the canal running in front of the church for around 200 metres, with a landing point for boats closed off with red and white tape.
Access from the Brazzo and Dei Muti canals blocked as well from 6pm tonight – when the wedding festivities kick off with a pyjama party at a secret location – until midnight tomorrow.
Dozens of electrical cables, threading along the ground like spaghetti, are being run from a noisy generator boat moored in the Madonna dell ‘Orto canal, which is creating a noisy din.
The venue for the party is the cloister next door to the church, which is where the famous Renaissance artist Tintoretto is buried.
The website for the cloister describes the venue, which is used for the famous Biennale art exhibition in Venice, as ‘simple, yet elegant’.
Pictures from previous events show tables beneath the vaulted ceilings, atmospherically lit by candlelight – but this week the scaffolding on the church tower will be clearly visible.
The cloister extends to three sides and is supported by ornate columns with a beautiful herringbone floor.
When MailOnline approached a guard and asked if the cloister was open, we were told: ‘No, it’s closed, there is a private function.’
The Aman hotel has built a private jetty for the lucky 48 guests who will be staying there for the Bezos wedding.
Sat on the Grand Canal, the hotel has constructed a small pier covered in a blue tent for those who will be arriving by boat and require privacy. The couple have booked out all 24 grand rooms at the hotel from Wednesday.
Extra police and added safety measures have been brought in for the wedding, and local authorities have been holding a series of daily meetings to discuss how to protect the expected 200 VIPs.
According to local media reports, the city will pay overtime to an unspecified number of police officers involved in security for the wedding organisers.
Among the assorted billionaires and millionaires on the guest list, there is also Ivanka Trump, who as the US president’s daughter has an extra added level of security.
All of this has prompted questions in parliament from furious MPs – mostly from opposition centre left and environmental parties – wanting to know just how much Italian taxpayers’ money was being spent.
Angelo Bonelli, an MP with the Italian Green and Left Alliance, angrily demanded that Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi from the ruling Brothers of Italy right-wing party provide cost details.
Mr Bonelli said: ‘We need information because from Wednesday until Saturday night the city of Venice will be in a virtual lockdown to allow the Amazon magnate’s wedding to go ahead.
‘It will be locked down, but it will also be a city bought for three days in a sort of unbridled celebration of luxury that will limit the movement of citizens.
‘I am here to ask the Ministry of the Interior to guarantee the freedom to express dissent. How is it possible to buy a city for three days creating a series of inconveniences?’
He added: ‘I remember that Amazon is under investigation for the exploitation of workers, Bezos’ wealth comes from this. If they can buy Venice for three days, these super rich can pay taxes.’
Bonelli’s request was echoed by opposition M5S deputy Antonio Iaria, who said: ‘We too, as the Five Star Movement, ask Piantedosi for information.
‘In the Senate as M5S we also proposed an increase in the web tax not to go against a sector but to address a problem of the future.
‘This government immediately bows to billionaires, it does not ask itself if in a historical moment like this a public order problem is not created.
‘The government shows that Venice must not be a playground for billionaires, tourism is welcome but not to those who rent a city to the detriment of the citizens themselves.’
He added: ‘Bezos is getting married. Venice is blocked. And how much does it cost the Italian State?
‘We asked Interior Minister Piantedosi. We pay, certainly, for security, for public order, to lock down an entire city and protect a cover wedding.
‘But how much does all this cost Italy? Who guarantees security? Who coordinates traffic?
‘Who manages the inconveniences for citizens and workers? The answer is always the same: the public machine, with public money.
‘And in exchange? Selfies and luxury, while those struggling to pay the rent watch from afar.’
Campaign group No Space For Bezos have already said they plan to disrupt the wedding by blocking canals and have asked activists to ‘turn up with snorkels and masks’,
They have also been encouraged to bring inflatable crocodiles or other toys to scatter along the canals to impede the dozens of water taxis hired to ferry guests between venues.
Ruling Brothers of Italy MP Salvatore Caiata hit back and said:’We do not agree that Piantedosi should report to the Chamber on this topic also because the Minister of the Interior is not a wedding planner, we cannot ask that the government come to report to the Chamber on every topic, it is paradoxical that every situation is used to exploit.’
No-one from the organisers or Venice town hall who cover the local police budget was immediately available for comment.
