Emma Bonino Lies in State at Rome City Hall

Emma Bonino, the Italian politician who first came to national attention in the 1970s through her campaign to legalise abortion in heavily Roman Catholic Italy, is lying in state at Rome's City Hall.

A European Union flag and a photograph of Bonino were placed on her coffin during the public tribute on Sunday, September 13, 2026.

The display reflects the two strands most associated with her public life: her long engagement with European institutions and the social campaigns that brought her into politics.

Her career began with the abortion rights movement, a cause that placed her at the centre of one of Italy's most divisive social debates at a time when the country was still shaped by Catholic teaching on family and reproduction.

She went on to become a prominent figure in Italian political life, and the flag laid on her coffin underscored the European dimension of that work.

Members of the public are being received at the City Hall in the Italian capital, where the coffin, photograph and flag are on view.