The Italian media and communications landscape is mourning the loss of Matilde "Mity" Simonetto, who passed away on Monday, July 6, 2026. A true pioneer of public relations and one of the first professionals in Italy to specialize in image consulting, Simonetto was the key figure orchestrating the public, political, and corporate image of Silvio Berlusconi for two decades, serving as his trusted advisor until 2010.
Her family announced her passing in an official statement, remembering her exceptional competence, elegance, and discretion: "She stood out for her seriousness, energy, privacy, and professional rigor, earning the deepest respect of colleagues and collaborators alike." Though she spent her career operating strictly behind the scenes, her work left a profound mark on the modern history of Italian media and politics.
Recently, the veteran consultant had reminisced about the beginning of her 20-year partnership with Berlusconi, which began in the early 1990s at his Arcore estate during a lightning-fast, ten-minute interview. "He would stare right at you to see if you had that inner spark," she recalled, sharing how the billionaire media mogul hired her on the spot: "He asked two or three questions and then said, 'Is it alright if we start tomorrow?'" After three days of silence, Berlusconi called her directly to kick off the project. From that moment on, Simonetto was on the front lines of the chaotic, pioneering birth of the Forza Italia party, attending its very first historic strategy meetings in Sardinia and Arcore back when the movement consisted of "an anthem, an idea, and very little else."