RACISM: SPECTATOR THROWS BANANAS AT ITALY'S FIRST BLACK MINISTER

A spectator at a political rally threw bananas at Italy's first black minister, Cecil Kyenge, who has already suffered several racist onslaughts since taking office in April.

Integration minister - Cecile Kyenge, who was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, was making a speech at the rally on Friday when a member of the audience began to launch the pieces of fruit towards her. The bananas missed the podium where she was speaking but the incident drew a deluge of condemnation in the media, where politicians and commentators lamented the shame brought on the country by that action. 

"Another shameful and disgraceful gesture. Solidarity with the Minister Kyenge. Now let's just isolate the idiots," said Gianni Alemanno, former mayor of Rome.

Shortly before Friday's incident, protesters covered in fake blood the site of the rally in Cervia, central Italy, protesting against Ms Kyenge's proposal to make anyone born on Italian soil a citizen.

Ms Kyenge, who has largely maintained a dignified silence in the face of the abuse, issued a restrained condemnation of the act, calling it "sad" and a waste of food, considering the economic crisis.

"The courage and optimism to change things has to come above all from the bottom up to reach the institutions," she added.

The insults directed at Ms Kyenge since she took office have frequently come from other politicians. Earlier this month a senior parliamentarian in the anti-immigration Northern League party likened her to an orangutan and only apologised after a storm of criticism