The row over Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi airport is entering a new chapter as Milan seeks to rename the airport after the scandal-ridden media mogul and prime minister.
As opposition to the name change grows, Milan Mayor Beppe Sala said the northern city has joined an appeal filed by other municipalities seeking to overturn Rome’s decision.
Italian media reported on Friday that the appeal could be filed with the competent administrative court as early as next week.
The far-right Transport Minister, Matteo Salvini, accelerated the name change and gave it final approval, despite strong opposition among Milan residents.
The center-right Forza Italia party, which Berlusconi founded, is part of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government in Rome.
Mayor Sala, a centre-left politician, argued that the airport’s name could not be changed due to the rule that public buildings and squares cannot be named after a famous person until ten years after their death.
He was unsuccessful. Since July, Milan Malpensa Airport, which is located about 50 kilometers outside the city, is now officially called Aeroporto Silvio Berlusconi.
Berlusconi died in June 2023 at the age of 86.
He was born in Milan in 1936. The flamboyant property developer turned media mogul founded his own conservative party Forza Italia in the 1990s and entered politics. He was also at the helm of the AC Milan football club for many years.
Three airports serve Milan: Berlusconi, the smaller Linate Airport and the Milan-Bergamo Provincial Airport.