Santo Domenico Versace (; born 16 December 1944) is an Italian businessman and politician who is the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

and co-chief executive officer of Gianni Versace SpA, based in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, Italy. Since 2008 he has been elected as Member of the Chamber of Deputies of the

Italian Republic Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in the constituency of

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. He is a member of the

Alliance for Italy Alliance for Italy ( it, Alleanza per l'Italia; ApI) was a centrist political party in Italy. The party, which was described in its manifesto as "democratic, liberal, popular" as opposed both to "right-wing populism" and the "social-democratic l ...

political party, formerly being a member of

The People of Freedom The People of Freedom ( it, Il Popolo della Libertà, PdL) was a centre-right political party in Italy. The PdL, launched by Silvio Berlusconi on 18 November 2007, was initially a federation of political parties, notably including Forza Italia a ...

Biography

Early life

He was born on 16 December 1944 in

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria ( scn, label= Southern Calabrian, Riggiu; el, label= Calabrian Greek, Ρήγι, Rìji), usually referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the largest city in Calabria. It has an estimated popul ...

, where he grew up with his younger siblings

Gianni Gianni is an Italian name (occasionally a surname), a short form of the Italian Giovanni and a cognate of John meaning God is gracious. Gianni is the most common diminutive of Giovanni in Italian. People with this given name * Gianni Agnelli (i ...

and Donatella, along with their father, Antonio, and dressmaker mother, Francesca. An older sister, Tina, died at the age of twelve from an improperly treated

tetanus Tetanus, also known as lockjaw, is a bacterial infection caused by ''Clostridium tetani'', and is characterized by muscle spasms. In the most common type, the spasms begin in the jaw and then progress to the rest of the body. Each spasm usually ...

infection. By age six, Versace joined his father and continued to work after school and summers with him until he attended university. When not in school, he helped care for his younger sister, Donatella.

Personal life

In 1981, Versace married Christiana Cavalli. The couple had two children, Francesca Christiana and Antonio Tina Santo. The marriage ended in divorce in 2004. Versace remarried in 2014 to lawyer Francesca de Stefano, with whom he had one daughter, Ramona Francesca.

Career and professional life

In 1968, Santo graduated from the

University of Messina The University of Messina ( it, Università degli Studi di Messina; Latin: ''Studiorum Universitas Messanae''), known colloquially as UniME, is a state university located in Messina, Sicily, Italy. Founded in 1548 by Pope Paul III, it was the wor ...

with a degree in economics. He began working first as a banker in

for Credito Italiano and later as a high school teacher of economics and

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

. In 1972, he completed his military service as an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

in the "Genova Cavalleria." Upon completion of his service, Santo opened his own accounting office in both Reggio Calabria and Milan. In 1976, he moved permanently to Milan where he began working full-time with his brother. ''Gianni Versace SpA'' was founded in 1977, with Santo Versace as CEO until 2004. Santo played a leading role in the success of the Versace brand by focusing on communication, organization, productivity, and quality. He oversaw all areas of the business—including sales, distribution, production and finance—and quickly became one of the industry's leading and most well-respected businesspeople. In 1998, Santo was appointed president of the Italian Fashion Chamber where he served from 1998 to 1999. Since 1998 he is a shareholder of Viola Reggio Calabria Basketball. From June 1998 to October 1999 was "President of the National Chamber of Italian Fashion." He is Chairman of Operation Smile Italy Onlus, an association of doctors and volunteers which deals with children with facial deformities in 70 countries around the world.

In popular culture

Versace is portrayed by Italian actor

Giovanni Cirfiera Giovanni Cirfiera () is an Italian film and television actor. He is best known for portraying Santo Versace in the miniseries '' The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story'' (2018). Filmography Film Television References E ...

in the second season of the anthology series ''

American Crime Story ''American Crime Story'' is an American anthology true crime television series developed by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, who are also executive producers, alongside Brad Falchuk, Nina Jacobson, Ryan Murphy, and Brad Simpson. The ser ...

'', which premiered on 17 January 2018.

Notes and references

Notes

Citations

External links

Versace official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Versace, Santo 1944 births Living people People from Reggio Calabria Italian businesspeople in fashion Italian chief executives Versace The People of Freedom politicians 21st-century Italian politicians Act to Stop the Decline politicians Alliance for Italy politicians People of Calabrian descent University of Messina alumni