Rome has opened the doors of the Campidoglio's Protomoteca Hall to allow citizens to pay their final respects to Emma Bonino, the Radical leader who shaped five decades of Italian civil rights battles. The lying-in-state arrangements give the public access on Sunday and Monday, culminating in state funeral services scheduled for Tuesday, 15 September at 12:30—a rare secular ceremony honoring a politician whose career defied convention.
Why This Matters
• Public Access: Citizens can pay respects at the Campidoglio's Protomoteca Hall through Monday, with the funeral service Tuesday at 12:30.
• State Honors: The government has approved state funeral status, reflecting Bonino's role as former minister, European commissioner, and senator.
• Trans partisan Tributes: Leaders from across the political spectrum—from the Right to the Left—have acknowledged her legacy despite deep ideological differences.
• Proposed Legacies: A Campanian proposal for fertility preservation laws and calls for a street naming in Castelvenere are among the first memorial initiatives.
A Historic Farewell in the Heart of Rome
Hundreds of citizens formed a steadylines throughout Sunday, waiting patiently to enter the Campidoglio and honor a figure who left an indelible mark on Italian society. The EU flag draped over her coffin spoke to her lifelong conviction that Italy's future lay in deeper European integration—a stance that remained unwavering even as populist movements gained ground across the continent.
Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri received the coffin alongside members of Bonino's +Europa party, including Riccardo Magi and Benedetto Della Vedova, as well as her sister Domenica and other family members. The atmosphere remained solemn and composed, with attendees reflecting on a political journey that began in the 1970s and continued until days before her passing at age 78 from complications related to small-cell carcinoma.
The choice of the Protomoteca Hall carries symbolic weight. This space, within Rome's municipal palace, has hosted dignitaries and historical figures, but rarely has it welcomed someone whose career was built on challenging institutional norms—from her 1975 abortion rights activism to her anti-prohibitionist campaigns.
The Politics of Respect Across Divides
What emerged most strikingly from the official tributes was the breadth of political figures willing to set aside ideological battles. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, leader of Fratelli d'Italia, acknowledged that while their "histories and sensibilities were distant," she recognized Bonino's "weight and role in our nation's public life." This from a leader whose conservative platform stands in direct opposition to many causes Bonino championed.
The Union of the Centre (UDC) offered perhaps the most nuanced tribute. Secretary Lorenzo Cesa noted that his Catholic-rooted party had "often found itself on the other side" regarding what he called "non-negotiable values like life and family." Yet he praised Bonino's unwavering coherence—a quality he suggested modern politics had lost. "She never changed her mind for a poll, never chased easy consensus," Cesa told attendees at the UDC's national festival. "In an era of liquid leaders without history, she reminds us that politics is study, passion, total dedication to others."
This tension—between disagreement on substance and admiration for method—surfaced repeatedly. Gianfranco Fini, former president of the Chamber of Deputies and a historic figure on the Right, acknowledged their divergent views but recalled finding "many points of convergence" on international politics during her time as foreign minister and European commissioner.
The Liberal Catholic Paradox
Bruno Tabacci, one of the founders of +Europa and a former Christian Democrat, addressed what he called "criticism from the Catholic world" regarding his political partnership with Bonino. "I think the responsibility of political laity prevails over everything," he explained to reporters outside the ceremony—a statement that encapsulated the unusual coalition her memory has forged.
Pier Ferdinando Casini, another former Chamber president from the Catholic democratic tradition, simply called her "a Europeanist as we should all be." The brevity spoke volumes about how her continental vision had, in death, achieved near-universal recognition even among those who once fought it.
The Woman Behind the Battles
For those who worked closest with her, the public figure contrasted with a private person deeply affected by political disappointments. Carla Taibi, treasurer of +Europa and Bonino's spokesperson for over fifteen years, revealed layers not visible in parliamentary footage or campaign rallies.
"Her request 'love me less, vote for me more' unfortunately wasn't always followed—almost never, actually—and that made her suffer greatly," Taibi wrote in a memorial letter. "As did, in her final period, the various drifts and everything happening in the world, in Europe, in Italy, and even in her own party."
Taibi recalled the 2022 electoral campaign when Bonino crafted a message titled "Cara Italia, resta libera"—Dear Italy, stay free. The letter, turned into a video appeal, reflected Bonino's growing alarm about populist currents she saw threatening fundamental freedoms. "Emma hated populism, even as she realized how much grip it could have on voters by speaking to their bellies," Taibi explained—referencing fears stoked around migration and LGBTQ+ rights that Bonino saw as unfounded but politically potent.
Former Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni put it differently: "Fifty years ago, no one would have imagined that radical positions would be recognized by everyone, and it's her merit that this happened."
What This Means for Residents
For Italians, Bonino's passing marks more than the end of a personal chapter—it closes an era when civil rights battles were fought street by street, referendum by referendum. Her 1970s campaigns for divorce and abortion rights fundamentally reshaped Italian society, creating legal frameworks that subsequent generations inherited without fully understanding their origins.
The National Association of Magistrates (ANM), through President Giuseppe Tango, acknowledged Bonino's role in advancing "rights and social and civil battles." More concretely, the Campanian branch of the Democratic Party announced they would propose a law on fertility preservation, directly linking the initiative to Bonino's advocacy for women's self-determination. Councillor Bruna Fiola framed the timing: "This proposal is deposited in the hours we learned of her passing—a woman who traversed the civil and political history of our country fighting for rights, individual liberties, and for women's right to self-determination."
At the municipal level, Castelvenere in the province of Benevento will consider naming a street after her, while commentators like constitutionalist Piero Sandulli have suggested the most fitting memorial would be passing end-of-life legislation—a cause Bonino championed but never saw codified into law. Currently, Italy manages this area through Constitutional Court interpretations that many consider insufficiently coherent.
A Civic Vigil and International Echoes
A civic vigil is scheduled for Monday evening in Piazza del Campidoglio, bringing together figures from across civil society—journalists like Concita De Gregorio, actors like Kasia Smutniak, and politicians including Cécile Kyenge, Francesco Rutelli, and Angelo Bonelli. The gathering reflects the unusual coalition of activists, cultural figures, and institutional politicians that Bonino's career managed to bridge.
Nicola Fratoianni of the Italian Left struck perhaps the most urgent note outside the hall. Bonino's figure reminds us, he said, "of the need to defend with great determination fundamental rights that she left her mark on—and that today are back in question."
That sentence may capture the essential tension of this moment: a unified tribute to someone whose battles, in many cases, remain unfinished.
