The veteran Radical Party leader, former minister and European commissioner, who died on Saturday aged 78, lay in state at Rome city hall before secular state funeral rites on Tuesday.Italy is paying tribute to Emma Bonino, the veteran Radical Party leader, former foreign minister and European commissioner, who died on Saturday at the age of 78. Her body lay in state at Rome's Campidoglio over the weekend, with thousands of Romans queuing to pay their respects.  Bonino's coffin, draped with the flag of the European Union by +Europa secretary Riccardo Magi, arrived at the Sala della Protomoteca on Sunday, welcomed by an honour guard alongside Magi, +Europa president Matteo Hallissey, Forza Europa leader Benedetto Della Vedova, Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri and members of her family. Wreaths from the president of the republic, the president of the chamber of deputies and the prime minister were placed behind the coffin. The chamber reopened to the public on Monday from 10.00 to 19.00, following an already lengthy queue the previous day, with many visitors writing "grazie Emma" in a book of condolences.   Tributes Speaking at the Campidoglio, Gualtieri described Bonino as a "gentle and tenacious fighter" for the rule of law, civil rights and a democratic Europe, saying her battles had played a decisive role in making Italy "more free and therefore more just". Magi called her "an example of what politics should be", noting she had dedicated her life to reforming Italy's institutions, criticising them fiercely while always trying to improve them.   Among the political and cultural figures who visited the chamber on Sudnday were Pier Ferdinando Casini, Gianfranco Fini, Paolo Gentiloni, Nicola Fratoianni, Elly Schlein, Angelo Bonelli, Roberto Giachetti, Cécile Kyenge, Francesco Rutelli, Roberto Saviano and Kasia Smutniak. A civic vigil was also held in Piazza del Campidoglio on Sunday evening, bringing together politicians, party colleagues and friends to remember her. The government's council of ministers approved a decree granting Bonino a state funeral, alongside fellow former parliamentarian Raffaele Costa, who also died last Friday. The secular state funeral rites, including an official commemoration, will take place on Tuesday 15 September at 12.30 in the Protomoteca. Bonino served as a member of the European Parliament, European commissioner, Italian foreign minister and senator, and was a leading figure in Italy's Radical Party for decades, campaigning on civil rights, reproductive freedom and humanitarian causes both in Italy and abroad. Photo credit: GIACOMO MORINI / Shutterstock.com

Italy is paying tribute to Emma Bonino, the veteran Radical Party leader, former foreign minister and European commissioner,  at the age of 78. Her body lay in state at Rome's Campidoglio over the weekend, with thousands of Romans queuing to pay their respects.   Bonino's coffin, draped with the flag of the European Union by +Europa secretary Riccardo Magi, arrived at the Sala della Protomoteca on Sunday, welcomed by an honour guard alongside Magi, +Europa president Matteo Hallissey, Forza Europa leader Benedetto Della Vedova, Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri and members of her family. Wreaths from the president of the republic, the president of the chamber of deputies and the prime minister were placed behind the coffin. The chamber from 10.00 to 19.00, following an already lengthy queue the previous day, with many visitors writing "grazie Emma" in a book of condolences.   Speaking at the Campidoglio, Gualtieri described Bonino as a "gentle and tenacious fighter" for the rule of law, civil rights and a democratic Europe, saying her battles had played a decisive role in making Italy "more free and therefore more just". Magi called her "an example of what politics should be", noting she had dedicated her life to reforming Italy's institutions, criticising them fiercely while always trying to improve them.   Among the political and cultural figures who visited the chamber on Sudnday were Pier Ferdinando Casini, Gianfranco Fini, Paolo Gentiloni, Nicola Fratoianni, Elly Schlein, Angelo Bonelli, Roberto Giachetti, Cécile Kyenge, Francesco Rutelli, Roberto Saviano and Kasia Smutniak. A civic vigil was also held in Piazza del Campidoglio on Sunday evening, bringing together politicians, party colleagues and friends to remember her. The government's council of ministers approved a decree granting Bonino a state funeral, alongside fellow former parliamentarian Raffaele Costa, who also died last Friday. The secular state funeral rites, including an official commemoration, will take place on Tuesday 15 September at 12.30 in the Protomoteca. Bonino served as a member of the European Parliament, European commissioner, Italian foreign minister and senator, and was a leading figure in Italy's Radical Party for decades, campaigning on civil rights, reproductive freedom and humanitarian causes both in Italy and abroad. Photo credit: GIACOMO MORINI / Shutterstock.com