Sara Funaro Elected Mayor of Florence

Sara Funaro, former welfare and immigration city councilor in the administration of Dario Nardella, was elected mayor of Florence on or a five-year term in a run-off held on June 23 and 24, 2024.  A member of the Democratic Party (Partito Democratico), she also received the support of the Alleanza Rosso-Verdi (the Red-Green Alliance formed of Europa Verde: Green Europe and Sinistra Italiana: the Italian Left) and the 5 Star Movement, winning 60.6% of the vote, with 39.4% going to Eike Schmidt, former director of the Uffizi and a dual German-Italian citizen.  47.98% of local residents voted over the two days.

Schmidt has a seat on city council of Florence concurrently with the position of director of Naples’ Capodimonte museum.

A psychologist and psychotherapist by profession, Funaro, Florence’s first woman mayor said she was “thrilled” to be elected.  She is the granddaughter of Piero Bargellini, mayor of Florence during the 1966 flood; her mother is Antonina (Bocci) Bargellini and her father Renzo Funaro.  Her mother commented that, “it is easier to be the daughter of a mayor than the mother.  Grandfather and granddaughter are similar in their love for Florence and their shared toughness.”