Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi tied the knot with his partner Marta Fascina on Saturday, but only "symbolically".
The 85-year-old Berlusconi, founder and leader of the conservative party Forza Italia, and the 32-year-old Forza Italia MP Fascina have been a couple since 2020.
According to reports, Berlusconi let his children dissuade him from his desire for a “real” marriage, who feared that the billion dollar inheritance would be split up again.
Berlusconi has five children from two previous marriages, each of which ended in divorce.
After all, three of them took part in the celebration with a total of 60 guests at Villa Grenetto in Monza on Saturday.
After the divorce from his second wife Veronica Lario in 2009, it took almost a decade for the former couple to settle the legal dispute over the alimony payments worth millions.
Berlusconi last separated from his partner Francesca Pascale in 2020 after ten years of relationship.
Justifying the "symbolic marriage", Berlusconi said before the celebration on Saturday: "The bond of love, esteem and respect that connects me to Marta Fascina is so deep and strong that it is not necessary to break it through a to formalize marriage.”
In addition to the three children and Berlusconi's brother, those invited on Saturday included well-known party and business friends from the long career of the successful entrepreneur and politician.
In January, Berlusconi failed in an attempt to be elected President of Italy by the parliament in Rome.