[GA+] State visit by sightseeing steamer: Steinmeier receives Italian President Mattarella in Bonn

It’s about half past twelve on this Saturday morning when the spectacle begins on the windy Stresemannufer in Bonn. Joggers and pedestrians stopped and watched curiously as the motorcade turned toward the UN complex. Several dozen black limousines, led by a squadron of “White Rats” – white-jacketed motorcycle cops – armed riot police, men in baggy jackets and ear studs, blue lights everywhere, police helicopters circling. State visits, which were almost an everyday sight in the capital’s days, are now rare. And they caused a stir.