Sandro Bondi (born 14 May 1959) is an Italian politician. He served as
minister of culture
A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizatio ...
from 2008 to 2011, in the
Berlusconi IV Cabinet.
Biography
Bondi was born in
Fivizzano
Fivizzano is a ''comune'' in the province of Massa and Carrara, Tuscany, central Italy.
History
It became part of the Republic of Florence in the 15th century thus gaining the Tuscan republic an important foothold in Lunigiana, a key region whi ...
,
province of Massa-Carrara, Italy. He first attended school at
Lausanne
, neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...
, where his emigrant father had settled. The family later returned to Italy and at a young age Sandro joined the
Italian Communist Youth Federation
The Italian Communist Youth Federation ( it, Federazione Giovanile Comunista Italiana, FGCI) was the youth wing of the Italian Communist Party (''Partito Comunista Italiano''; PCI), and the direct heir of the Federazione Giovanile Comunista d'Ita ...
, soon becoming its secretary in
Lunigiana
The Lunigiana () is a historical territory of Italy, which today falls within the provinces of Massa Carrara, Tuscany, and La Spezia, Liguria. Its borders derive from the ancient Roman settlement, later the medieval diocese of Luni, which no long ...
. He gained a
laurea
In Italy, the ''laurea'' is the main post-secondary academic degree. The name originally referred literally to the laurel wreath, since ancient times a sign of honor and now worn by Italian students right after their official graduation ceremony ...
in
philosophy from the
University of Pisa
The University of Pisa ( it, Università di Pisa, UniPi), officially founded in 1343, is one of the oldest universities in Europe.
History
The Origins
The University of Pisa was officially founded in 1343, although various scholars place ...
with a dissertation on
Leonardo Valazzana, precursor of the
Augustinian order
Augustinians are members of Christian religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written in about 400 AD by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–13 ...
and opponent of
Girolamo Savonarola
Girolamo Savonarola, OP (, , ; 21 September 1452 – 23 May 1498) or Jerome Savonarola was an Italian Dominican friar from Ferrara and preacher active in Renaissance Florence. He was known for his prophecies of civic glory, the destruction of ...
.
A Catholic democrat, he campaigned for the
Italian Communist Party
The Italian Communist Party ( it, Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) was a communist political party in Italy.
The PCI was founded as ''Communist Party of Italy'' on 21 January 1921 in Livorno by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) ...
, and was elected mayor of Fivizzano in 1990. In 1992 the town council led by him was overturned by the local
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...
, in association with
Christian Democracy. Activists already playfully compared him to a ''ravanello'' (
radish
The radish (''Raphanus raphanistrum'' subsp. ''sativus'') is an edible root vegetable of the family Brassicaceae that was domesticated in Asia prior to Roman times.
Radishes are grown and consumed throughout the world, being mostly eaten raw ...
): that is, red on the outside but white on the inside. Following these events he left the
PCI.
Subsequently, getting to know
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies f ...
via the sculptor
Pietro Cascella
Pietro Cascella (February 2, 1921 – May 18, 2008) was an Italian sculptor. His principal work consisted of
large monumental sculptures, including the '' International Monument to the Victims of Fascism'' in the Auschwitz II-Birkenau death c ...
, he became Berlusconi's secretary, collaborator and faithful advisor, so much so that - for Berlusconi's 2001 campaign - he was given the task of quickly coordinating the compilation of ''Una storia italiana'' (''An Italian Story''), a book of photographs on Berlusconi's public and private life, as electoral propaganda for future elections (as used by all Italian families).
Bondi returned the great trust accorded him by Berlusconi by over the years becoming one of his main supporters, publicly proclaiming his devotion and fidelity to him on several occasions, as well as in poems he composed and read on television programmes, which were a major target for his critics and for satirists.
In the
2001 general election he was elected to the
Chamber of Deputies for Berlusconi's
Forza Italia party in the III circoscrizione (
Lombardia
(man), (woman) lmo, lumbard, links=no (man), (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, ...
1). In the campaign for the
2005 regional elections he organised the party's communications and was the same year named the party's coordinator. In the
2006 general election he was re-elected to the Chamber, elected from the results of circoscrizione XX (
Campania
(man), it, Campana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demog ...
2). In the meantime he collaborated with ''
Vanity Fair'' on a poetry page. In summer 2006 he published his latest sayings under the title "Laici e credenti: una fede comune".
In the course of the
2008 general election he participated in hustings in several Italian towns, as well as one in teatro Fenaroli in the city of
Lanciano, where he declared that he did not wish to leave Berlusconi alone in government, as had been done in the past, thus leaving an invitation for all to lean on and encourage him. In the 2008 election, he was a People of Freedom candidate for
Senate for the
Tuscany
it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Citizenship
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 = Italian
, demogra ...
region, as well as a centre-right candidate for president of the
Province of Massa-Carrara. He was elected to the Senate, and he reached the second ballot for the provincial presidency with Osvaldo Angeli (candidate for the centre-left
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
), which Angeli then won with 55.4% of the vote, against Bondi's 46%.
In 2008 he was made
culture minister
A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizat ...
in the fourth cabinet of Berlusconi, relinquishing his post as national co-ordinator of Forza Italia to Denis Verdini. During his tenure of the ministry he announced the appointment of a special commissioner for the ruins at
Pompeii and was censured for criticising modern art and architecture.
References
External links
*
Biographyon the Forza Italia website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bondi, Sandro
1959 births
Living people
People from the Province of Massa-Carrara
The People of Freedom politicians
Mayors of places in Italy
Forza Italia politicians
Forza Italia (2013) politicians
Italian Communist Party politicians
University of Pisa alumni
Culture ministers of Italy
Forza Italia (2013) senators