Milan’s largest airport will be renamed to honor the late prime minister, the government has announced
Italy is planning to rename Milan Malpensa Airport after former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini has revealed.
Berlusconi, who was born in Milan, passed away last year at the age of 86. He served as Prime Minister four times, leading the Forza Italia party he founded in 1994.
“Good news: Milan Malpensa Airport will be named after Silvio Berlusconi,” Salvini, who also holds the position of Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, along with a picture of Berlusconi and Malpensa airport.
He explained that the board of directors of the Italian National Civil Aviation Authority ENAC approved a request made a year ago by officials from the Lombardy region, where the airport is located.
“The final decision rests with the transport minister, and I am ready to put the signature, with pride and emotion, in the memory of my friend Silvio, a great entrepreneur, a great Milanese and a great Italian,” Salvini concluded. “He is always with us.”
The Deputy Prime Minister hasn’t specified when the airport, which handles 22 million passengers each year, will officially change its name.
Berlusconi, who once referred to himself as the “Jesus Christ of politics” and drew comparisons between himself and Napoleon Bonaparte, is remembered as a controversial political figure who was often in the news, even after he retired from politics.
A prominent media magnate, Berlusconi established the Mediaset television group and owned the AC Milan football club between 1986 and 2017.
The billionaire faced criminal trials on 30 occasions during his political and business career for alleged offenses including abuse of office, defamation, and links to the mafia. However, only one case resulted in a conviction – a 2012 guilty verdict for tax evasion related to television rights.
The politician was banned from holding public office in 2013 after receiving a four-year prison sentence for tax fraud. The ban was lifted in 2018, and he became a member of the European Parliament a year later.