Anti-Bush protests in Rome after Pope meeting

By Robin Pomeroy and Deepa Babington

ROME (Reuters) - Demonstrators clashed with police in central Rome on Saturday as U.S. President George W. Bush wound up a visit to Pope Benedict and Italian leaders.

Hours after Bush had discussed Middle East peace with Pope Benedict and was wrapping up meetings with Italian politicians, police in riot gear charged and fired tear gas at demonstrators who had thrown bottles at them in Rome's historic centre.

The protestors, some wearing motorcycle helmets and bandanas to cover their faces, shattered a window of a bank and overturned outdoor dining tables on some of Rome's most famous streets.

Several policemen and demonstrators were injured.

Tear gas wafted into Rome's historic Piazza Navona, which had been the scene of a demonstration that was for the most part peaceful. Anti-American graffiti was spray-painted on some statues and restaurants and shopkeepers lowered their shutters.

The incident was far from where Bush was staying at the U.S. ambassador's residence in another quarter of the city and on the other side of the Tiber River from the Vatican.

The highlight of Bush's day was his first-ever meeting with Benedict, a fellow religious conservative, in the Vatican.

Bush later said he felt "awe" in the presence of the Pope, who urged him to seek "regional and negotiated" solutions to Middle East conflicts like Iraq.