Milan bids farewell to Giorgio Armani: hundreds gather at the funeral chapel

On September 6, 2025, Via Bergognone, Milan, hundreds of people lined up from the early hours of the morning to pay their final respects to Giorgio Armani at the funeral chapel set up at the Armani/Teatro, open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and tomorrow.

Among the first to arrive were Mayor Beppe Sala, Stellantis chairman John Elkann with his wife Lavinia, Gianni Petrucci, president of the Italian Basketball Federation, and Ettore Messina, coach of Olimpia Milano, the basketball team historically linked to the designer. Donatella Versace, dressed in black with dark glasses, brought her final tribute to her dear friend Giorgio: a bouquet of white roses.

The funeral chapel, set up in the space usually reserved for fashion shows, was decorated with hundreds of paper lanterns lit by candles, bouquets of white flowers, and the scent of incense, with a simple coffin topped with white roses, flanked by an honor guard of carabinieri and the black-draped banner of the City of Milan.

“The mark I hope to leave is made of commitment, respect, and care for people and for reality. That is where everything begins,” read the words displayed on the room’s screen. Numerous collaborators and friends, including Leo Dell’Orco, Armani’s longtime right-hand man and close companion in life, took part in the tribute.

Matteo Marzotto, president of MinervaHub, remembered the designer as “a great entrepreneur and a man of extraordinary kindness, an example for anyone working in this field. I worked with some from that generation, and I would have loved to work with him.”

The period of mourning declared by the City of Milan saw flags flown at half-mast in all offices, while the city prepared for the private funeral on Monday, September 9. Mayor Sala announced the possibility of enrolling Armani in the Famedio – “the temple of fame” inside the Monumental Cemetery – as recognition of his Milanese legacy, and emphasized how “it will be impossible to forget” the designer’s contribution to the city.