Italy’s culture minister admits trying to hire lover as ministry consultant

Italian PM Giorgia Meloni faces a new blow after her culture minister, a close ally, was forced to admit an affair with a social media influencer he tried to hire as a ministry consultant.
In an interview with Italy’s RAI state broadcaster Wednesday night, Gennaro Sangiuliano, a Meloni loyalist, said he had offered his resignation to the prime minister, but she refused to accept it.
The move came in response to a scandal that broke last week when Maria Rosaria Boccia, a social media influencer, announced on Instagram that she had a new role as an adviser for major events to the culture ministry — a claim the ministry itself denied. Boccia then published documents and pictures of herself on business trips with Sangiuliano, including visits she said were reconnaissance for the upcoming G7 ministerial meeting on culture in Positano, Italy.
The minister, who is married, admitted that Boccia had accompanied him on business trips, and claimed he had initially offered her a role but later “revoked” the offer after receiving advice that it would be a conflict of interest due to their “personal, sentimental” relationship.
In an emotional interview, Sangiuliano insisted no public money was used to pay for his trips with Boccia, and that she’d had no access to confidential documents. He apologized tearfully to his wife and to Meloni “for the embarrassment caused to her and the government.”
It’s the second scandal to affect the culture ministry this year, with Sangiuliano’s subordinate, the then-Culture Undersecretary Vittorio Sgarbi, resigning in February after being accused of laundering stolen artwork.