The decision to name the northern Italian hub after Berlusconi - the politician and media mogul whose three terms as prime minister were dogged by litigation - was taken soon after his death on June 12th, 2023, and not without controversy.
Attending a ceremony Friday in Malpensa's Terminal 1 arrivals area were members of Italy's hard right government, including Transportation Secretary Matteo Salvini, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani - leader of the Forza Italia party founded by Berlusconi - and members of the Berlusconi family.
Dignitaries unveiled a new sign with the airport's new official name: Milan Malpensa International Airport Silvio Berlusconi.
"What better contribution to the memory of Silvio than to give his name to the access port to Europe and the world," his brother Paolo said.
Silvio Berlusconi's daughter, Marina, told Italian news agency ANSA that her father had spent his life "looking ahead and far."
"I like to think that from today his name will welcome those from other countries and accompany those taking off towards new destinations," she added.
The sign was unveiled more than two years after the Italian transport ministry announced that the name had officially been changed.
Noticeably absent at the ceremony was Milan's centre-left mayor, Giuseppe Sala, who had turned unsuccessfully to the courts to stop the renaming move.
Sala had unsuccessfully argued that Salvini had fast-tracked the initiative without consulting local mayors and other entities involved.
Italy's opposition argued that the decision flouted a law requiring that public places cannot be named after people who have been dead for less than 10 years.
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