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Silvio Berlusconi: The Conductor of Italy's High-Speed Revolution

Silvio Berlusconi: The Conductor of Italy's High-Speed Revolution
photo: repubblica.it/Silvio Berlusconi: The Conductor of Italy's High-Speed Revolution
12 / 06 / 2023

Silvio Berlusconi, former Prime Minister of Italy, passed away today, June 12, 2023, leaving behind a mixed legacy. His flamboyant persona made headlines for decades, but as we remember him today, we reflect on a moment connected to our railway history, one that personifies Berlusconi's influence on Italy's transportation landscape.

Back in March 2009, Berlusconi was present to inaugurate the Frecciarossa, the high-speed train that revolutionized travel between Milan and Rome. With a conductor's cap jauntily placed on his head, he turned a routine inauguration into a spectacle, a reminder of his well-known charismatic flair.

"I made this train too: we have modernised Italy", he quipped, and indeed his government had given the green light to high-speed rail, marking a significant milestone in Italy's transport infrastructure. Despite changes and challenges in his political and personal life in the years that followed, his zest for life, as evident in his jovial interactions on the Frecciarossa, remained intact.

Today, we remember his contribution to the modernization of Italy's railways, an echo of Berlusconi's resonance in the annals of Italian history.

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