For Berlusconi by bus from Calabria for 16 hours. Ettore, Maria Stella and the other fans “in procession” at San Raffaele-Corriere.it

To stay close to him they crossed Italy, often bringing gifts but above all their closeness. They are the “fans” and enthusiasts of Silvio Berlusconi, who for days have been presenting themselves in front of the San Raffaele where the former premier is hospitalized in intensive care for a pulmonary infection in a context of chronic myelomonocytic leukemia. Ettore Fragale he is 67 years old, he is from Cosenza, and he spent sixteen hours by bus to get to Milan. “I came to Uncle Silvio because he has done good for Italy, he has made us known in the world, he has never fired anyone despite the crisis”. In reality Ettore votes for Lega: “I also met Salvini, down by me, we ate together, but uncle Silvio is uncle Silvio”. With him, who worked for 43 years at the former Savings Bank, she brought the votive dress, holy pictures and the holy water of San Francesco da Paola: «I took it from the Cucchiariella spring, where the water remains always high at the same point. I was hoping to give everything to the family, but it doesn’t matter » he says a little resigned but smiling, putting everything back in his backpack. They call him: «Yes, I’m here, the journalists will stop me».

From the South before him had come Marco Macri
, 31 years old, an eleven-hour journey from a small town in the province of Lecce. «Friends never abandon each other, I came here without thinking about it and I won’t leave until Silvio is gone». He was in front of the San Raffaele both on Easter day and on Easter Monday, with his flat cap on his head and the billboard «Come on Silvio, Salento is with you». Another loyalist brought him three grapefruits to be delivered to the former prime minister when he comes out. And he’s there to linger and have a chat with Macrì in front of the Q2 entrance Noelle, a historic pasionaria who admits that she has been here for a few days and that she is praying for him: «I cannot visit him, but I am here to tell him that I am close to him. And that he will come out a winner this time too,” she told theAdnkronos.

Instead, it arrives from Milan at the gates of via Olgettina 60 Maria Stella D’Antonio, has an old autographed photo of the Forza Italia leader and promises «I will write a book of everything that happened in Arcore, everything that came out was false: the bunga bunga was just a black statue, Berlusconi went to sleep at eleven, early . He’s a good guy, he’s not leaving now. He stays, we don’t know how long because it’s a serious matter anyway, but now he lives ». On his Facebook profile, under the heading «work», he writes «for Silvio Berlusconi». On Easter day, however, a small show: at the gates of via Olgettina 60 it is presented Stefano Bonesini of Verona, fully dressed in a suit and tie, who had participated in 2019 at Tu Sì que Vales as John Travolta. «I have never seen the prime minister but I wish him all the best. I like him, I love him.” To prove that he is an “original double” he did a dance in front of the hospital gate, accompanied by the move de Saturday night fever. But security pushed him back to the gates.