Silvio Berlusconi’s funeral service, which is set to commence at 3 p.m. today, is expected to be a massive event, with more than two thousand political leaders attending under tight security measures at the Milan Cathedral. Berlusconi’s coffin was closed on Tuesday evening in Arcore, near Milan, where his allies, including Giorgia Meloni and Matteo Salvini, paid their respects.
Arcore, known as Berlusconi’s residence and headquarters, was adorned with flowers by supporters of the late politician. Before the ceremony at the Milan Cathedral, which begins at three o’clock on Wednesday afternoon, Silvio Berlusconi’s coffin will be briefly exhibited at the main entrance of the cathedral, and then placed at the main altar.
The state funeral service will be led by Archbishop Mario Enrico Delpini of Milan, but it will also have a personal aspect, as Berlusconi’s family, relatives, friends, colleagues, and his party, Forza Italia, will bid him farewell, too.
Silvio Berlusconi’s funeral is expected to be one of the largest political ceremonies in recent decades,
given the active role the deceased politician played in Italian, European, and international politics from the 1980s on and his extensive network of friends and professional relationships.
The Milan Cathedral can accommodate up to 2,300 people. The former ministers of the Berlusconi governments, as well as nearly forty members of the current government, have confirmed their attendance. The Italian state delegation will be led by President Sergio Mattarella, Giorgia Meloni and two deputy prime ministers. Lega President Matteo Salvini will also be present. The European Commission will be represented by former Italian prime minister and EU Commissioner for Economic Affairs Paolo Gentiloni. ‘With Berlusconi’s death, the Italians are revisiting the history of recent decades, recognising the extraordinary role he played in our country’s and Europe’s life,’ said Gentiloni in an interview with the commercial channels bearing Berlusconi’s name.
The European People’s Party delegation will be led by its chairman, Manfred Weber. The Vatican and several Italian churches will also be represented. Mario Draghi, former Prime Minister and former President of the European Central Bank, will be in attendance, as well as 81-year-old Umberto Bossi, the former leader of the Northern League (Lega Nord, now called Lega) and Berlusconi’s former political ally.
The leaders of the Italian opposition parties and parliamentary factions, the mayors of Forza Italia, the delegations of the Milan and Monza football clubs, as well as representatives from Italian business, culture, sports, and public life will also be present. Giuseppe Conte, former Prime Minister and President of the Five Star Movement, and politicians from the Italian Left and the Green Party, however, will not attend the ceremony.
The President of Iraq, Abdul Latif Rashid, the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and more than fifty foreign ministers or ambassadors from various countries will also arrive in Milan.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will also participate in Silvio Berlusconi’s farewell, as confirmed Bertalan Havasi, the prime minister’s press chief.
Orbán was a great admirer of the late Italian prime minister, considering him a friend and ally. On 12 June, when the news of Berlusconi passing broke, the Hungarian prime minister posted a very personal note, written partly in Italian, on Twitter:
The square in front of the cathedral can accommodate twenty thousand people, who will be allowed to enter through security gates from the early afternoon. The ceremony will be broadcast live by the Italian public media. A similar number of people is expected in the streets around the cathedral.
According to live reporting from the square outside the Milan Duomo, thousands have already gathered to mourn the late Italian prime minister, with banners expressing appreciation of and gratitude to the great politician.
