Whats happening?

This is Venice long ago. The big crowd was listening to the man pleading his cause. He was very eloquent and had a loud voice. The mans wife and two children were sitting in the boat. The small child is going to womit. I was standing there for twenty minutes. Being a foreigner I didn´t understand a word and what was happening. Can anybody help me? (Photographed with a Leica M4, Summicron 35 mm, film TriX)