Malpensa Is Renamed for Berlusconi, and Lombardy Counts the Bill

Milan's Malpensa airport was officially renamed after Silvio Berlusconi in a ceremony on Friday, according to The Local Italy, which reported the change as a tribute to the former prime minister and billionaire and noted that it drew criticism from local and national politicians.

Malpensa is the intercontinental gateway for Europe's richest industrial region. Renaming it is not a cosmetic act for Lombardy: the airport is the first Italian word most foreign executives, buyers and fashion-week visitors encounter, and its name now carries a political charge into every airline booking system, cargo manifest and conference itinerary that touches Milan.

The Local Italy framed the decision as contentious precisely because of the record it honours. Berlusconi remains a polarising figure abroad, and the wire's account places the ceremony in that contested space rather than presenting it as a settled civic tribute.