Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi was nicknamed Il Cavaliere (The Knight) for his Order of Merit for Labour. On June 12 2023, he died in Milan, aged 86, due to complications from a severe form of chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia. On the same day, the Italian government announced a state funeral and proclaimed a national day of mourning for 14 June.
The funeral was attended by 2,300 people in the Cathedral and 15,000 people in the square outside of it. Supporters of Berlusconi chanted C'è solo un presidente! ("There is only one president!") and applauded while the coffin was entering and then leaving the Cathedral. Anti-communist chants were also reported.
