Thousands of people in Milan for a last farewell to Senator Silvio Berlusconi, politician and entrepreneur who has marked the course of Italian history over the past thirty years. Many ordinary people have gathered around the Milanese cathedral since early morning today. Citizens who arrived in the Lombard capital from all over Italy. Inside the Duomo the president of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, the highest offices of the State and also numerous institutional representatives from various foreign countries. And, again, exponents of the world of sport, entrepreneurship, entertainment, managers and employees of the companies founded by Berlusconi in his long managerial career.
The last goodbye
Thunderous applause and stadium chants greeted the arrival of the coffin in the square of the Milanese cathedral. Even at the entrance to the church, the bystanders gave a long applause to the Knight. The archbishop officiates the funeral rite Mario Delpini. The funeral ceremony was broadcast live by Rai and Mediaset; over 700 journalists from abroad were accredited for the state funerals. The Piazza del Duomo was divided in two. Two giant screens have been positioned, to the left and to the right of the Cathedral.
This, in order to allow the vision even to the thousands of people present in front of the cathedral. The security system, studied in detail, has been worked continuously in the last 24 hours. Silvio Berlusconi's body will be cremated in Panta Rei Valencian Crematorium Temple, in the province of Alexandria. After the state funeral, the coffin should be returned to the family chapel in Arcore, where the ashes of Berlusconi's parents and sister are kept.
Flowers and tears
Many wreaths of flowers left in the churchyard in front of the Cathedral to pay homage to the Cavaliere, a controversial character who undoubtedly left a tangible mark in the history of Italy. The emotion of the family members who occupied the first rows of the central nave of the cathedral was profound. Also visibly moved are Berlusconi's close collaborators who have supported him for years in many entrepreneurial initiatives and in political battles. National mourning also continues for the Italian Parliament, in fact the work of the two Chambers stops as a sign of respect for the passing of the senator.
It should be noted that the European flags placed at the entrance of Berlaymont Palace, the headquarters of the EU executive, are hoisted at half-mast on the occasion of the state funeral for the former prime minister. And also the European Parliament, flew flags at half-mast in mourning at all three of its locations Strasbourg, Brussels and Luxembourg. Similarly, the two EP headquarters in Italy, in Rome and Milan, have the yellow-blue flag and the Italian one at half-mast
“Silvio Berlusconi is a man who meets God today”. This is a significant sentence from Archbishop Delpini's homily pronounced during a function full of pathos: a last act with which an era ended.
(Photo Ansa)
