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Italy declares national day of mourning after Silvio Berlusconi dies at 86
Members of the public gather along a road as a funeral car transporting the body of former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi arrives at his residence, Villa San Martino, following his death in Arcore, northern Italy, on June 12, 2023. (Photo by Piero CRUCIATTI / AFP)
“The government has declared a national day of mourning for June 14th,” while all Italian and European flags on public buildings will be lowered to half mast from Monday nationwide, the spokesman told AFP.
READ ALSO: Silvio Berlusconi: The scandal-hit ‘knight’ who divided Italians
Berlusconi died in hospital following a battle with leukaemia, his spokesman confirmed on Monday morning.
Berlusconi had been admitted to Milan’s San Raffaele Hospital on Friday for what aides had said were pre-planned tests related to his leukemia.
The 86-year-old billionaire media mogul had been discharged three weeks earlier following a six-week stay at the hospital, during which time doctors revealed he had a rare type of blood cancer.
He was to have a state funeral in Milan’s cathedral, the local diocese said earlier on Monday.
“Silvio Berlusconi’s state funeral will take place on Wednesday June 14 in the Milan Duomo,” the diocese in the northern Italian city said on its website.
A mourner takes a picture of tributes to Silvio Berlusconi outside his home at Villa San Martino. (Photo by Piero CRUCIATTI / AFP)
Berlusconi had suffered ill health for years, from heart surgery in 2016 to a 2020 hospitalisation for coronavirus. Despite being re-elected to the Senate last year, he was rarely seen in public.
But he remained the official head of his right-wing Forza Italia party, the smallest of three parties in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s coalition government.
Meloni, a close ally of Berlusconi’s, paid tribute to the man she called “one of the most influential in Italy’s history” in a video message on Monday.
“Berlusconi was above all a fighter,” Meloni said in a video message posted on Twitter.
“He was a man who was not afraid to defend his convictions, and it was precisely that courage and determination which made him one of the most influential men in Italy’s history,” she said.
Silvio Berlusconi appearing on Rai 1, Italy’s main TV channel, in 2018. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP)
As Berlusconi’s body was moved from the hospital to Villa San Martino, and flags were lowered to half mast on all public buildings, tributes came from in from international leaders.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said his death was an “irreparable loss” and he hailed him as a “true friend.
Source:thelocal.it
Italy declares national day of mourning after Silvio Berlusconi dies at 86
Members of the public gather along a road as a funeral car transporting the body of former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi arrives at his residence, Villa San Martino, following his death in Arcore, northern Italy, on June 12, 2023. (Photo by Piero CRUCIATTI / AFP)
“The government has declared a national day of mourning for June 14th,” while all Italian and European flags on public buildings will be lowered to half mast from Monday nationwide, the spokesman told AFP.
READ ALSO: Silvio Berlusconi: The scandal-hit ‘knight’ who divided Italians
Berlusconi died in hospital following a battle with leukaemia, his spokesman confirmed on Monday morning.
Berlusconi had been admitted to Milan’s San Raffaele Hospital on Friday for what aides had said were pre-planned tests related to his leukemia.
The 86-year-old billionaire media mogul had been discharged three weeks earlier following a six-week stay at the hospital, during which time doctors revealed he had a rare type of blood cancer.
He was to have a state funeral in Milan’s cathedral, the local diocese said earlier on Monday.
“Silvio Berlusconi’s state funeral will take place on Wednesday June 14 in the Milan Duomo,” the diocese in the northern Italian city said on its website.
A mourner takes a picture of tributes to Silvio Berlusconi outside his home at Villa San Martino. (Photo by Piero CRUCIATTI / AFP)
Berlusconi had suffered ill health for years, from heart surgery in 2016 to a 2020 hospitalisation for coronavirus. Despite being re-elected to the Senate last year, he was rarely seen in public.
But he remained the official head of his right-wing Forza Italia party, the smallest of three parties in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s coalition government.
Meloni, a close ally of Berlusconi’s, paid tribute to the man she called “one of the most influential in Italy’s history” in a video message on Monday.
“Berlusconi was above all a fighter,” Meloni said in a video message posted on Twitter.
“He was a man who was not afraid to defend his convictions, and it was precisely that courage and determination which made him one of the most influential men in Italy’s history,” she said.
Silvio Berlusconi appearing on Rai 1, Italy’s main TV channel, in 2018. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP)
As Berlusconi’s body was moved from the hospital to Villa San Martino, and flags were lowered to half mast on all public buildings, tributes came from in from international leaders.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said his death was an “irreparable loss” and he hailed him as a “true friend.
Source:thelocal.it