The Gianni Agnelli Funeral: A National Identification Rite
in Italian Politics
On 24 January 2003, Gianni Agnelli, honorary president of Fiat, patriarch
of the most important Italian entrepreneurial family, Senator for
Life, died in Turin. The death of the octogenarian Avvocato, as he was
called, seemed to have a traumatic effect on Italian society. Commentators,
public personalities, politicians, and ordinary people quickly
saw his death as a sign of the end of an era. The media coverage of
the event was striking, for both its quantity and intensity. Radio and
television provided immediate reports, with special broadcasting that
filled the airwaves for days; the printed press reacted in a similar way.
The major national dailies ran nine column headlines to report the
news and followed with 20 to 25 pages (more in some cases) of editorials,
backgrounders by publishers or prestigious opinion-makers,
and front-page interviews with the president of the Republic. News
stories alternated with portraits and commentaries from some of
Agnelli’s closest collaborators, creating what often seemed like a retrospective
of the country’s history. There was an abundance of personal
recollections and declarations of affection and esteem from
ordinary citizens and leading figures in sports, economics, politics,
and cultural life. The news resonated in the foreign press as well.