by Edoardo Sassi
Security service for entering the church, where many familiar faces, friends and colleagues of the TV presenter can be seen. Behind the back rows are Oscar winner Paolo Sorrentino and the conductor of Sanremo Amadeus
On the day of the funeral of Maurice Costanzowho died last Friday at the age of 84 Church of Artists and the entire Piazza del Popolo are crowded hours before the funeral begins. TO Rome, for the last farewell, Thousands of people, familiar faces and ordinary people (here the live broadcast)
Daughter’s Emotional Speech
Maurizio Costanzo’s daughter, Camilla, had moved. «Papino, the wave of love that has overtaken us is thanks to the good that you have given to so many people. You didn’t have three children, but many more. Many considered you a father. You leave us an important legacy, your greatest lesson, humility. You never expected such a big display of affection. You would have told us, as always: “But you see? It’s all for me.” Now you are in the hands of Sordi and Gassmann, we picture you while you organize another of your talk shows in paradise». Then, equally moved, Gerry Scotti read the Artists’ Prayer.
Also on the coffin is the image of the beloved black cat Philip. The priest Don Walter Insero also remembered this during the funeral: “Maurizio liked it when Filippo jumped on his desk in the office. He was very fond of animals, dogs, cats but also the birds and a seagull that visited his balcony ». At the exit of the coffin, at the end of the Mass, the music of the Maurizio Costanzo Showone of the most famous programs on Italian television. Maria DeFilippi she is visibly touched.
«He was a great figure in journalism, not only on television: I remember his great love for the press. I’ve heard it a lot lately, we were planning to do something together.” Urban CairoPresident of the RCS.
The final farewell to the Parioli Theater
A last farewell also from the Parioli Theater: the funeral procession stopped in front of the theater, which for a long time was the scene of his show. The hearse stopped in the square in front of the hall via Borsi for a minute’s silence, which was then broken by the applause of the people. A stone’s throw away, in Via Ruggero Fauro, Costanzo was attacked by the mafia in 1993.
Order service at the entrance
Security service filters enter the church, where the TV host’s many familiar faces, friends and colleagues can be seen. Standing, after the last rows, the Oscar winner Paolo Sorrentino and the conductor of the Sanremo Festival Amadeus.
Toti absent
Absent at the funeral service Francesco Toti: for reasons of public order, some say. In reality, the former footballer, who is close friends with Maurizio Costanzo, is vacationing in Madonna di Campiglio with his new partner Noemi Bocchi, their daughters and his eldest, Chanel.
4 minutes of applause at the coffin
At 2:20 p.m., forty minutes before the funeral service is scheduled to begin, the coffin is carried to the church and greeted with great applause. lasted four minutes, and preceded by that of the square. Holy Mass begins fifteen minutes earlier: it is 2:45 p.m. when the sermon begins. The mayor is late Gualtieri, surrounded by the tricolor band. Among the wreaths of flowers scattered throughout the church and also resting on the side pillars, the white rose crown stands out with the inscription “An infinite embrace”, signed by Pier Silvio (Berlusconi, ed.).
You stand in the first row in front of the coffin Maria DeFilippi with the son Gabriel and the other two children of Costanzo, Saverio and Camilla herself, with the journalist’s four grandchildren. Mediaset executives were present, including President Fedele Confalonieri, CEO Pier Silvio Berlusconi and Alessandro Salem. Among the hundreds of familiar faces – Mediaset, Rai, cinema, theater – alongside Gerry Scotti reading the “Artists’ Prayer”, Mara Venier, Paolo Bonolis, Luciana Littizzetto, Giorgio Panariello, Salvo Sottile, Christian De Sica , Carlo Conti , Lorella Cuccarini with her husband Silvio Testi, Sabrina Ferilli with her husband Flavio Cattaneo, Roberto Giacobbo. And again: Vittorio Sgarbi, Fiorella Mannoia, Enrico Brignano, Valerio Scanu, Massimo Lopez, Tullio Solenghi, Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia, the President of Napoli Aurelio De Laurentis, the Director of La7 Andrea Salerno, Giancarlo Giannini, Ricky Tognazzi, Fabrizio Corona, Giancarlo Giannini, Giorgio Gori and Cristina Parodi, Valeria Marini, Daniele Silvestri, Alex Britti, a whole generation of comedians who have appeared on the Costanzo Show stage, from Dado to Pino Insegno.
The homily and the memory of the priest: “But are you a real priest?”
The Rector of the Basilica, Don Insero, remembers his first meeting with Maurizio two years ago: «But are you a priest?was the first thing he asked me. He then continued: “I thought I was seeing a journalist with a somewhat ‘priest-eating’ approach, but instead I found a welcoming and loving human being. Even as a child he wanted to be a journalist, he played with a bar of soap and pretended it was a microphone because he had a great need for communication. At 17, he proposed to Paese Sera. He was a very intelligent man, extremely curious, always ready to look for novelty and discovery. He was very active, he could never sit still. He was a humble man, living a very simple life. A loyal character, he kept his word and avoided judging others. Always inclined to understand everyone’s reasons. It took a lot of getting used to, he loved the sport and Rome, but he was lazy and certainly not a practicing athlete. He was an honest man, he had no ulterior motives».
Again: «His relationship with Maria (De Filippi, ed) was marked by tenderness, appreciation, love, complicity. He felt a strong sense of protection towards the people in his family and those who worked with him, he helped many artists who had to go back to work. He didn’t care about money, he wasn’t greedy, he could even share. The theater was his great passion. So friendship, one of their core values: with Vittorio Gassmann, Giorgio Assumma, Alberto Sordi, and Enrico Vaime...». Don Insero then recalled the esteem Costanzo had for Pope John Paul II and for Pope Francis. “The poverty of the people moved him – the pastor concludes – and for a long time he helped people in difficulty. Once he met a poetess who lived in poverty, he helped her monthly».
Sgarbi: “The heiress is Maria”
«He listens to him, he is living flesh. The Heritage? The wife, not in the material sense, but because with nothing she does the same television in an even more powerful way». So Vittorio Sgarbi in front of journalists, at the entrance to the Church of the Artists.
“He was like a father to me,” says Fabrizio Corona as he leaves the church.
If you want to keep up to date with what’s new in Rome, subscribe to Giuseppe Di Piazza’s free newsletter, The Seven Hills of Rome. Hits your inbox every Saturday at 7am. Just click here.
Feb 27, 2023 (Edit Feb 27, 2023 | 5:47pm)
© REPRODUCTION RESERVED