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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

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

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

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

Italian Republic Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in the constituency of

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

. He is a member of the

Alliance for Italy Alliance for Italy (; 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 left", described as "an e ...

political party, and a former member of

The People of Freedom The People of Freedom (, PdL) was a centre-right political party in Italy. The PdL launched by Silvio Berlusconi as an electoral list, including and National Alliance, on 27 February for the 2008 Italian general election. The list was later t ...

Biography

Early life

He was born on 16 December 1944 in

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...

, 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 (19 ...

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 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 l ...

infection. By age six, Versace joined his father as he continued to work after school and during summer until he attended university. When he is not in school, he helped take care of his younger sister, Donatella. Like his brother Gianni, he attended Reggio Calabria's Liceo Classico Tommaso Campanella, where he studied Latin and Ancient Greek.

Personal life

In 1981, Versace married Christiana Ragazzi. 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.

Career and professional life

In 1968, Santo graduated from the

University of Messina The University of 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 world's first Jesuit college, and today it ...

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 Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

. 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," fro ...

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 2019 he set up the Fondazione Santo Versace, a charity that supports humanitarian work both in Italy and abroad.

In popular culture

Versace is portrayed by Italian actor Giovanni Cirfiera in the second season of the anthology series '' American Crime Story'', 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 family 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