Silvio Berlusconi’s partner, 33, weeps over former Italian PM’s coffin

Silvio Berlusconi’s 33-year-old partner wept as the former Italian premier’s coffin was carried into Milan’s vast Gothic Duomo today for his state funeral. Marta Fascina (pictured) – alongside Berlusconi’s’ children – could not hold back her tears as pallbearers carried the coffin down the cathedral’s aisle as the ceremony began. 

She was seen again outside as the coffin left the building, on its way to be cremated. The occasion has proved controversial in Italy, with many furious that such an honor is being bestowed upon a three-time Prime Minister and media mogul tarnished by scandals.

Nevertheless, tens of thousands of Berlusconi’s supporters gathered in the square in front of the Duomo to watch the proceedings live on giant screens, and applauded as the casket was carried up a flight of stairs and through the cathedral’s doors. A further 2,300 people – made up of Italy’s business and political elite, including the president and three former premiers – gathered alongside Berlusconi’s children and companion, who openly wept as the casket was placed in front of the altar. Today is also national day of mourning to mark the passing of the man that most Italians identify as the most influential figure in Italy over recent decades. 

The media tycoon, soccer entrepreneur and three-time former Prime Minister – adored and loathed by Italians in equal measure – had been ill for several years, though he remained the official head of his right-wing Forza Italia party, a member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s coalition government. Berlusconi’s legacy – positive or negative – was being hotly debated among Italians in the run up to the event. Italians are split over whether the former premier merits all the fuss and ceremony that will be on display in Milan. 

His family held a private wake Tuesday at one of Berlusconi’s villas near Milan, the city where he made his billions as the head of a media empire before entering politics in 1994. They were seen together again inside the Duomo today. Marta Fascina (pictured right), an MP and Berlusconi’s final partner, could not hold back her tears. Those around her, included her partners older children, comforted her. She was at his bedside as he succumbed to a rare type of blood cancer. His two eldest children Marina (pictured left), 56 and Pier Silvio, 53, were also front-and-center during the ceremony. Marina, presumed to be the primary heir to Berlusconi’s media empire – recently valued at around $7 billion – also wiped away tears as the ceremony got under way. 

Fascina – 53 years Berlusconi’s junior – never officially married the tycoon, but they held a ‘fake’ ceremony in 2022 – making him his third ‘wife.’ His ex-wives are understood to have been in attendance inside the cathedral too. Some reports have suggested that Marina did not approve of Fascina and Berlusconi’s plans to get married. Nevertheless, she was seen comforting her father’s ‘widow’ all the same as the pair walked into the Duomo together.

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