ROME — Silvio Berlusconi, a cruise-ship singer, media mogul and three-time premier who dominated Italian politics for three decades, is getting a new act following his death last year.
Milan's Malpensa Airport, Italy's second-busiest passenger airport, is being renamed for the billionaire businessman-turned-politician, Italy's transport minister announced Thursday.
Italy's civil aviation authority approved the proposal, and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini said the new name will be Milan-Malpensa Silvio Berlusconi international airport.
The proposal had generated opposition, with Milan's center-left Mayor Beppe Sala firmly opposed and unions launching a counter-proposal to name the airport after La Scala's famous prima ballerina, Carla Fracci.
But Salvini, a longtime ally of Berlusconi on Italy's center-right, announced the decision had been made officially. ''A great satisfaction for a great Italian,'' Salvini said in a social media post.
Some of Italy's other big airports are named for historically famous Italians, such as Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport, Venice's Marco Polo airport and Verona's airport, named for the Latin poet Valerio Catullo.