It took over two years and some legal wrangling, but Italy’s second-busiest passenger airport was finally named after the controversial late former Premier Silvio Berlusconi – considered by some a precursor to Donald Trump.
The ceremony last week included the unveiling of a silver plaque at the airport, with Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini and Berlusconi’s family members among those attending.
The billionaire media mogul-turned-prime minister had dominated Italian politics for three decades and still casts a long shadow.
Like Trump (who also recently had an airport named after him in Palm Beach, Fla.), Berlusconi was admired by some as a charismatic statesman who put Italy on the world stage but reviled by others as a populist who used political power for personal gain.
Multiple criminal cases had involved Berlusconi, but most ended in dismissals. Investigations targeted the tycoon’s steamy so-called “bunga bunga” parties involving young women and minors, or his businesses. Only one led to a conviction that stuck – a tax fraud case stemming from a sale of movie rights in his business empire, for which he performed community service.
The decision to name the airport for him generated opposition when it was announced in 2024, including from Milan’s City Hall, which filed suit to halt the dedication. Three nearby towns in the Lombardy region did the same. They argued that cities, not the civil aviation authority, have the power to bestow names to places, and that law prohibits establishing monuments to people until 10 years after their death.
Berlusconi was born and raised in Milan, where he built his media empire and owned the AC Milan soccer team, and also died in the city in 2023, at the age of 86.
If you enjoyed or found this story useful, we’d appreciate if you would forward it to a colleague or friend who may also enjoy it. If, on the other hand, a friend shared it with you, welcome! You can get all the latest travel news and reviews from Travel Industry by simply clicking HERE.