Today, on a day of national mourning, the last farewell to Silvio Berlusconi with the state funeral in Milan, in the Duomo, at 3 pm. 2,000 people will participate in the celebration inside the Cathedral. Outside, in the square, 10,000 to 15,000 people will be admitted who will be able to follow the state funeral on the two giant screens set up. Citizens who want to pay their last respects to Berlusconi will be free at the checkpoints, until seats are exhausted.
THE AUTHORITIES PRESENT
Among others, the President of the Republic will be present at the funeral Sergio Mattarella while, at the request of the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the Commissioner for the Economy Paolo Gentiloni will represent the Commission. The government of the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloniwith ministers and undersecretaries, will be in full force.
The arrival of the authorities is expected after 2.30 pm, from the south side of the Cathedral. Berlusconi’s coffin will instead arrive in the churchyard and around 2.50 pm will be transported inside the cathedral. The last to enter will be President Mattarella, then – from 3 pm – the ceremony will begin, presided over by the archbishop of Milan, Mario Delpini. According to Adnkronos, no intervention by government officials is expected.
In the Duomo also the elite of Italian entrepreneurship and high finance, the blue mayors en masse, while the presence of Romano Prodi, the perennial adversary who has suddenly lost his wife Flavia Franzoni.
The secretary of the Democratic Party, Elly Schlein will participate in the ceremony. For the dem, the group leaders of the Chamber and Senate, Chiara Braga and Francesco Boccia, should also be present. Matteo Renzi and Carlo Calenda also confirmed their presence among the leaders of the opposition forces. The president of the M5S Giuseppe Conte will not be there, as AdnKronos learns. There will be no Nicola Fratoianni, leader of the Italian Left.
The Hungarian premier Viktor Orban, the president of Iraq Abdul Latif Rashid and the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamed will arrive from abroad. The identities of the other international leaders who will attend the funeral are still ‘covered’ for security reasons. Numerous foreign countries have asked to take part in the funeral of the president of Forza Italia, with diplomatic delegations or foreign ministers. For Ukraine – according to Adnkronos – only the consul general in Milan Andrii Kartysh will participate in an official capacity.
Furthermore, the old glories of Milan del Cavaliere are awaited, starting with Franco Baresi, who has already been to the funeral home of the founder of Forza Italia as vice president of Milan and historical friend of the former prime minister. The president Paolo Scaroni and the CEO Giorgio Furlani will be present from the new Rossoneri football season; obviously there will be the Monza team and the top management of the club, Cav’s last football dream. The well-known faces of Mediaset but also of public television will gather in the Cathedral, such as the ministers of the 4 Berlusconi governments: “they will make sure that everyone is there”, assures those who are at the forefront in organizing funerals destined to go down in history.
FUNERALS ON TV
Obviously, live TV is expected to bid farewell to the president of Forza Italia and patron Mediaset. As always for state funerals, Rai will take care of the television footage. Rai will then take care of giving the live signal to the other TVs as well. On the other hand, the Service Contract provides for Rai to provide coverage of major institutional events.
But the participation of state television in the mourning for Berlusconi’s death will not be limited to this. When Adnkronos learns, the top management of Rai will be present at the funeral in the Milan Cathedral: the president Marinella Soldi, the managing director Roberto Sergio and the general manager Giampaolo Rossi. Not only that: in all Rai offices, the flags will be at half-mast in accordance with the national day of mourning.
METRO AND BUSES, CLOSURES AND DEVIATIONS
“From 10 and until late afternoon” the Duomo metro station will be closed and the M1 and M3 trains will skip the stop, as announced by Atm. Furthermore, always starting from 10 “many lines that cross the center could be diverted or temporarily interrupted by the passage of people and authorities for the funeral of Silvio Berlusconi in Piazza Duomo in Milan”. These are in particular trams 1, 2, 12, 14, 15, 16, 19, 24, 27 and buses 54, 60, 73, 84. Atm warns passengers to “consider longer travel times and waits at longer stops longer than usual”.
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