Overview

• Giancarlo Cito, a polarizing figure in Italian politics, died in Taranto at age 79 after a prolonged illness.
• Cito leveraged his TV station, Antenna Taranto 6, to create the Lega d'azione meridionale political movement, propelling him to mayor of Taranto in 1993 and later to Parliament in 1996.
• His political career was marred by a 2002 conviction for external complicity in a mafia association, leading to his eventual withdrawal from public life.
• Cito's legacy continues through his family, with his son Mario currently running for mayor of Taranto under the same AT6 banner in late-May elections.
• Cito's death marks the end of a controversial chapter in Taranto's political history, while his media-driven populist model remains influential in the region.