Mazzi replaces Daniela Santanché who resigned under pressure from Meloni after justice referendum defeat.
Gianmarco Mazzi, a former undersecretary at Italy’s culture ministry, has replaced Daniela Santanché as tourism minister following her resignation last week.
“I am honoured to be appointed to this role” – Mazzi stated after being sworn in by Italy’s president Sergio Mattarella on Friday – “Tourism is a world rich in charm and great professionalism that requires meticulous care because it represents a pillar of the Italian economy”.
Who is Gianmarco Mazzi?
Mazzi, 65 and a native of Verona, brings an unusual background to the role.
He graduated in law and built a decades-long career as a cultural and entertainment producer before entering politics with Fratelli d’Italia, the rightwing party led by prime minister Giorgia Meloni.
In 1981, alongside Mogol and Gianni Morandi, he co-founded the Nazionale Cantanti charitable project, which over more than 40 years has raised and donated more than €50 million for humanitarian causes.
He went on to direct six editions of the Sanremo music festival, managed Adriano Celentano’s television and artistic activities for two decades, and served as artistic director and chief executive of the company overseeing live and television operations at the Arena di Verona from 2017 to 2022.
Referendum fallout
The ministerial change forms part of a broader governmental shake-up following the Meloni administration’s defeat in a constitutional referendum on judicial reform.
Meloni described the result as “a lost opportunity to modernise Italy” but confirmed she would continue as prime minister.
The defeat triggered a swift round of departures from government. Justice minister Carlo Nordio’s chief of staff, Giusi Bartolozzi, and justice undersecretary Andrea Delmastro Delle Vedove both resigned the day after the vote.
Bartolozzi had drawn fierce criticism after describing parts of the judiciary as “firing squads” during a television appearance ahead of the referendum, while Delmastro faced scrutiny over his reported shareholding in a restaurant company co-founded with the daughter of an alleged frontman for a Camorra boss.
Santanché resigned the following day in the wake of Meloni’s explicit demand that she go, having been under investigation in Milan for alleged balance-sheet fraud at her company Visibilia and for possible insolvency fraud.
Meloni subsequently held the tourism brief on an interim basis until the arrival of Mazzi on Friday.
Photo Gianmarco Mazzi – Facebook
