Berlusconi, funeral in Piazza Duomo. Dozens of supporters have already arrived: “We had to be there. He marked the world of politics and TV”

Everything is already ready in Piazza Duomo in Milan for the state funeral for Silvio Berlusconi, who died at the age of 86 on June 12 at the San Raffaele hospital. The ceremony will be at 3 pm but even now the square is surrounded by barriers which will then delimit the access. The gates are open from 10. There will be about two thousand people who will enter the cathedral while the square will have a capacity of about 10 thousand people. People in the square will be able to watch the ceremony thanks to the two giant screens set up. The first supporters of the former Forza Italia president have already arrived: «We left this morning by train from Turin – says 57-year-old Francesco Uzzi, who is in the second row with his partner and daughter near the barriers – We wanted to be here because he’s a character we’ve been following for years and he’s marked the world of politics and TV».

LIVE – The state funeral of Silvio Berlusconi in the Milan Cathedral

The presence of the authorities is expected between 2.30 and 3 pm. Among those present at the ceremony were the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella and the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni together with government officials. Also announced their participation, among others, the secretary of the PD Elly Schlein, the leader of Italia Viva Matteo Renzi, the leader of Action Carlo Calenda and Paolo Gentiloni, in Milan representing the European Commission. As for the names of international leaders, not all have been disclosed for security reasons, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani should be present, among others.

The Duomo of Milan will close its doors to the flow of faithful and tourists today at 12. From 13.30 the participants in the funeral of Silvio Berlusconi will be able to begin to enter. In all there are 15 thousand barriers that will delimit the passage and the escape routes in the square. The authorities are allowed to enter from the southern entrance through Piazza Fontana, where the coffin will also arrive. From ten o’clock the Duomo underground stop is closed. During the day, the routes of several surface lines were also diverted.