Overview
- The Fratelli d'Italia festival opened at Castel Sant’Angelo with a ribbon‑cutting by Arianna Meloni and runs through December 14, when Giorgia Meloni is slated to close the event.
- PD leader Elly Schlein stayed away after Giorgia Meloni conditioned any face‑off on a three‑way debate including Giuseppe Conte, prompting jibes from the festival’s channels.
- Giuseppe Conte is scheduled for a one‑to‑one interview, with Carlo Calenda, Matteo Renzi and Riccardo Magi set to appear, while Nicola Fratoianni declined.
- Organizers debuted a “bullometro” lampooning perceived left‑wing “hate speech” alongside a curated right‑leaning pantheon that now features Pier Paolo Pasolini and a prominent “Atreju blue” visual identity.
- Crowds packed the opening that included Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri’s appearance and institutional pleasantries, and one attendee suffered a fainting episode; the guest roster mixes TV names like Mara Venier, Carlo Conti and Ezio Greggio with sports figures such as Gigi Buffon, with a late switch that drops Julio Velasco and adds Anna Danesi.