Mourners gathered in Milan on Wednesday for the state funeral of Silvio Berlusconi, the divisive and domineering former prime minister who remained ubiquitous in Italian public life for decades until his death this week.
Berlusconi’s coffin left Villa San Martino in Arcore, on the outskirts of Milan, and was transported through the city center to Milan’s Gothic Duomo cathedral for Wednesday’s service. When he left the cathedral afterwards, crowds sang the Italian national anthem.
A day of mourning was also declared for the former prime minister, but some objected to the trappings of farewell to a colorful figure who was briefly banned from politics in Italy following a tax fraud conviction in 2012.
The former leader’s body is to be cremated at the Valenziano Panta Rei Crematorium Temple in the province of Alessandria, Piedmont, according to the affiliate of the CNN SkyTG24.
Berlusconi, who had a long and scandal-filled career, died in a Milan hospital on Monday aged 86.
The lavish occasion of his funeral drew crowds from across Italy, including Berlusconi supporters – some of whom waved flags bearing the name of his party Forza Italia – and supporters of the Milan football team he owns.
Huge television screens were erected outside the cathedral to show proceedings.
Inside the church, around 2,000 people gathered, including Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán and EU Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni.
In his homily, Archbishop Monsignor Mario Delpini described Berlusconi’s “desire for life”.
“Silvio Berlusconi was certainly a politician, he was certainly a businessman, he was certainly a figure in the limelight of notoriety. But in this moment of farewell and prayer, what to say about Silvio Berlusconi? He was a man: a desire for life, a desire for love, a desire for joy”, said the Archbishop in the homily given in the cathedral of Milan.
“This is what I can say about Silvio Berlusconi. He is a man and now he meets God,” he added, drawing spontaneous applause from the mourners in attendance.
Other intrigued onlookers also watched from the outside. “It’s a historic event for Italy… I think it will be difficult for Italy to adjust to his death,” said Jessica Lana, who joined the crowd outside the Duomo di Milano on Wednesday. But Lana opposed giving Berlusconi a state funeral, citing the many trials against him.
Art historian and rector of the University for Foreigners of Siena, Tomaso Montanari, wrote on Tuesday that, unlike state buildings, the flags would not fly at half-mast at his university.
On his Facebook page, Monatanari said that, as dean, he never thought he would have to take a stand on Berlusconi’s death. He said he was “forced to do so” by Meloni’s decision to grant Berlusconi a period of mourning.
Berlusconi had a recent history of health problems and was recently diagnosed with leukaemia, Milan’s San Raffaele Hospital said. He had previously been admitted to hospital with breathing problems and had a check-up on Friday, days before his death.
He also left behind a burgeoning business empire, and it’s unclear how his wealth, built through ownership of some of Italy’s most recognizable companies, including AC Milan, will be split between his five children.
All have significant stakes, but it is the eldest daughter, Marina, 56, who has chaired the company since 2005 and who is supposedly most likely to take control of her father’s business empire.
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index put Berlusconi’s net worth at $7.6 billion on Monday.
Widely regarded as Italy’s most colorful public figure, Berlusconi was elected prime minister three times and served a total of nine years, longer than anyone since fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.
He remained a central figure in Italian public life until his death, having led his Forza Italia party, which he revived in 2013, to victory in a right-wing coalition with Giorgia Meloni and Matteo Salvini in September 2022.
Italy’s first female prime minister, the far-right Meloni, said on Monday that her longtime ally was “above all a fighter”.
“He was a man who was never afraid to stand up for his beliefs. And it was exactly that courage and that determination that made him one of the most influential men in Italian history,” she said.
Source: CNN Brasil
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