Italy bade farewell to four-time prime minister Silvio Berlusconi on Wednesday at a state funeral befitting the business tycoon’s colourful life, with mourners bellowing soccer chants and politicians arguing over a day of national mourning.
Crowds waving the flags of the AC Milan soccer club Berlusconi used to own chanted “Silvio, Silvio” as his coffin was carried inside Milan’s gothic cathedral, flanked by ceremonially dressed Carabinieri police with plumed helmets.
Inside were some 2,300 mourners, including the women, politicians and businessmen who had accompanied the 86-year-old during his rise to power and riches.
Marta Fascina, the 33-year-old politician who was Berlusconi’s partner during his final
