- State Funeral and National Mourning
- Dignitaries and Family in Attendance
- Divided Opinions and Reflections
On Wednesday, a state memorial was held in Milan for the divisive and dominant four-time prime minister who passed away on Monday at the age of 86 in a hospital where he was being treated for chronic leukemia.
Thousands of mourners gathered to offer the former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi farewell.
On Wednesday, a national day of mourning, a state funeral was conducted in Milan for the divisive and dominant four-time prime minister who died on Monday at the age of 86 in a hospital where he was being treated for chronic leukemia.
The ceremony was conducted in the city’s famous Duomo cathedral, with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, the emir of Qatar, and President Viktor Orban of Hungary among the foreign dignitaries in attendance.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who received criticism for her government’s decision to conduct a state funeral and declare a rare national day of mourning, attended the funeral alongside three former Italian leaders.
Ms. Meloni shared a tribute to her predecessor with her 1.9 million Twitter followers on Wednesday afternoon, uploading a video with the caption “Thanks, Silvio. We will remember you.”
Mr. Orban tweeted a final farewell to the Italian leader. Calling him “a great statesman and a true friend” and adding, “Life is emptier without you.”
Crowds gathered in a piazza in front of the Duomo to watch the ceremony on two enormous screens. Erupting in applause as the casket was carried into the cathedral.
His partner Marta Fascina, brother Paolo, and children Luigi, Marina, Barbara, Pier Silvio, and Eleonora attended the funeral.
According to a family source, his corpse will be cremated before his ashes are transferred to the family mausoleum on the grounds of his villa in the northern town of Arcore, about 20 kilometers northeast of Milan.
Villa San Martino was to receive Mr. Berlusconi’s casket before cremation at the Valenziano Panta Rei Crematorium Temple in Alessandria.
The sculptor Pietro Cascella built the white marble mausoleum with a tomb in the early 1990s. In the center is a sarcophagus of the former Italian leader.
Tuesday, the family of Mr. Berlusconi held a private farewell at one of his villas near Milan.
Paolo Scaroni, the chairman of Mr. Berlusconi’s cherished AC Milan football club, along with former players. Such as Giovanni Galli, Demetrio Albertini, Franco Baresi, and Daniele Massaro, were present at the funeral.
Former England manager Fabio Capello, Lazio president Claudio Lotito, and Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis joined them.
Italians remain divided over whether Mr. Berlusconi’s influence was positive or negative, and whether he merited a state funeral.
Archbishop of Milan Mario Delpini characterized the former prime minister in his eulogy as a “businessman who found success and failure, a politician who won and lost, a notoriety-seeking personality who had admirers and detractors, those who applaud him and those who detest him.”
Former European Parliament candidate Barbara Cacellari said protests over Mr. Berlusconi’s memorial showed disrespect.
“He represents the history of this country,” she said, adding, “I believe that no one is without stains.”
Critics of Mr. Berlusconi, who had a longstanding friendship with Vladimir Putin, argued that his leadership stunted Italy’s economic development.
Respected foreign correspondent Beppe Severgnini stated that the former leader “exploited all of our weaknesses: moral, financial, and sexual.”
