Giulio Napolitano (Rome, 12 July 1969) is a full professor of administrative law in the Department of Law of the University of Roma Tre and a lawyer. He has published essays and scientific volumes in the most varied fields of public law and legal comparison.
His latest literary effort the world on his shoulders published by Mondadori.
Giorgio Napolitano was a central figure in Italian politics, with a career that spanned decades of change and challenge. His dedication and commitment have left an indelible mark on the history of the country. It is interesting to see how his son Giulio lived this experience, closely observing his father’s rigor and passion.
Giorgio Napolitano was a witness and protagonist of many crucial events in recent Italian history.
His political life has gone through moments of great transformation and crisis, such as the historic compromise, the terrorism of the years of lead, the end of the PCI, Tangentopoli, and the birth of bipolarism. His ability to navigate through these political storms and help save Italy from a financial crisis is truly remarkable.
The portrait that emerges of him is that of a lucid, measured, ironic and affable man, but always committed to his service. His family, and in particular his relationship with his wife Clio, seems to have played a fundamental role in his balance and strength.
The relationship between Giulio and Giorgio Napolitano seems really special, a mix of intellectual complicity and mutual affection. It is fascinating to see how the public and private are intertwined in their history, creating a powerful and unique tale. Giulio’s perspective offers an intimate and personal look at such an important public figure.
His son Giulio talks about the historical-political context of the 80s and 90s. During this time, Italy has experienced great changes. The 1980s were marked by the end of the Cold War and the beginning of globalization. The Italian Communist Party (PCI) faced a significant transformation, culminating in its dissolution in 1991 and the birth of the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS).
Giorgio Napolitano played a crucial role in these changes. He was leader of the PCI group in the Chamber of Deputies and helped lead the party through this transition period. In the 1990s, Napolitano became president of the Chamber of Deputies and the prime minister of the interior from the PCI. His political career reached its peak with his election as President of the Republic in 2006 and his re-election in 2013.
Giorgio Napolitano, the former president of the Italian Republic, had an eventful life and significant contributions to Italian politics. Despite the challenges and difficulties, the last years of his life were not marked by bitterness. Napolitano accepted a second presidential term, breaking an unwritten custom, with the aim of favoring the reform of the institutions. His presidency, which lasted from 2006 to 2015, went through economic crises, changes of government and institutional clashes.
After his death on September 22, 2023, his son Giulio Napolitano revealed unpublished details about his father’s presidency in a book entitled “The World on His Shoulders”. Giorgio Napolitano was a central figure in some of the most turbulent phases of Italian politics, and his commitment to parliamentary democracy and institutional reform remains a fundamental aspect of his legacy.
The relationship between Giulio Napolitano and his father Giorgio was truly unique and significant. Giulio lived his childhood and adolescence immersed in the politics and community of the Italian Communist Party (PCI), following his father in rallies, Unity parties and election campaigns. This strong and inseparable link between the public and private dimensions has profoundly marked his life.
Giorgio Napolitano, an authoritative and affectionate figure, transmitted to Giulio stimuli and curiosity for life and politics. Giulio had the opportunity to discover the civilization of political confrontation even between opposing forces, accompanying his father to Montecitorio and experiencing parliamentary activity up close.
This experience has certainly helped to shape Giulio Napolitano’s vision and path, making their family history an interesting cross-section of fifty years of Italian life.
Giulio Napolitano’s book offers a fascinating look at the political career of his father Giorgio. As reported by Affaritaliani, Giulio says that Carlo Azeglio Ciampi appointed Giorgio Napolitano senator for life, bringing him back to Parliament, his political “home”. Subsequently, Piero Fassino and the center-left proposed Napolitano for the Presidency of the Republic.
Despite initial resistance, the consensus for Giorgio Napolitano for the office of President of the Republic gradually expanded. Casini and Fini immediately supported the candidacy, while Berlusconi hesitated. In the end, the line of Bossi’s League prevailed, which opted for the blank ballot. Giorgio Napolitano was elected in 2006 with about forty more votes than necessary, a significant but not overwhelming margin.
This election marked a pivotal moment in Italian political history and in Napolitano’s career, who would later face major challenges during his presidential term.
Once elected, Giorgio Napolitano immediately immersed himself in the responsibilities of the presidential office, devoting particular attention to the inaugural speech.
Giulio Napolitano recalls anecdotes related to that period, such as the dinners at the Quirinale with Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, during which the daily functioning of the Palazzo complex was explained to him.
These moments of learning and adaptation were crucial for Napolitano, who found himself managing one of the most important and delicate positions of the Italian state.
The transition from the government of Enrico Letta to that of Matteo Renzi was one of the most delicate moments of Giorgio Napolitano’s presidency. Renzi’s famous phrase “stay calm” to Letta became symbolic of that period of transition. Giulio Napolitano offers a unique perspective on those days, underlining how his father always believed in parliamentary democracy and always deferred to the indication of the parties and Parliament. The Letta government, born with broad confidence, lost Renzi’s support when the latter became secretary of the Democratic Party and made it clear that he no longer liked that government.
This phase of political transition was complex and full of tensions, but Giorgio Napolitano remained faithful to the democratic and institutional principles that had guided his career.
Giorgio Napolitano found himself in a very complex position during the transition from the Letta government to the Renzi government. Giulio Napolitano recalls how his father was initially perplexed and worried, given that the executive had been formed after months of paralysis and Italy was still under European infringement proceedings. Renzi’s growing pressure, supported by the consensus within the Democratic Party, made change inevitable.
Giorgio Napolitano told Renzi that the Democratic Party had to take a clear position: either loyally support the Letta government or ask for its change, assuming responsibility for it. This episode highlights the complexity and challenges of Napolitano’s presidency, which had to navigate between political pressures and institutional responsibilities.
Giulio Napolitano concludes by underlining how his father, while accepting the transition from the Letta government to the Renzi government, was embittered. Giorgio Napolitano took note of the situation, but regretted the brutality of that passage. This episode highlights the complexity and challenges of Napolitano’s presidency, which had to navigate between political pressures and institutional responsibilities.