Clio Maria Bittoni

Italian jurist (1934–2024)

Clio Maria Bittoni
Bittoni in 2014

Companion of the President of Italy
In role 15 May 2006 – 14 January 2015
President	Giorgio Napolitano
Preceded by	Franca Pilla
Succeeded by	Laura Mattarella

Personal details
Born	(1934-11-10)10 November 1934 Chiaravalle, Italy
Died	10 September 2024(2024-09-10) (aged 89) Rome, Italy
Spouse	Giorgio Napolitano (m. 1959; died 2023)
Children	2 sons
Parents	Amleto Bittoni (father) Diva Campanella (mother)
Residence(s)	Rome, Lazio, Italy
Alma mater	University of Naples
Profession	Lawyer

Clio Maria Bittoni (10 November 1934 – 10 September 2024) was an Italian lawyer who specialised in labour law. She was the widow of Giorgio Napolitano, who was the President of Italy from 2006 until 2015.

Early life and education

Clio Maria Bittoni was born in Chiaravalle, Ancona, on 10 November 1934.^[1]^[2]^[3] Her parents were Diva Campanella, a socialist militant, and Amleto Bittoni.^[1]^[4] She received a degree in law from the University of Naples in 1958.^[2]

Bittoni met her future husband in Naples while attending the university.^[4] Following her graduation, they married in 1959 in a civil ceremony in Campidoglio,^[5]^[1] and settled in Rome.^[6] They have two sons:^[2]^[5] Giovanni (born 1961) and Giulio (born 1969).^[4]

Bittoni worked as a lawyer for the League of Cooperatives, specializing in labor law and in the application of the fair rent law in agriculture, until 1992 when Giorgio Napolitano was elected as president of the Chamber of Deputies.^[1]^[3] Bittoni left the practice of law claiming that “because it seemed inappropriate for me to stay, since my counterparts were the parliamentary committees, the presidency of the Council and other institutional bodies”.^[1]

Companion of the President of Italy (2006–2015)

Her husband was elected President of Italy in 2006, and Bettoni was seen to be permanently at her husband's side as an essential support.^[1] Bettoni was not very attentive to protocol and had often been seen close to and among the citizens.^[1]

During the ten years of Napolitano's presidency, Bettoni was involved in the defence of women and often wrote letters that were later published in the newspapers.^[1]

In June 2007 she was hit by a car while crossing the Vida del Quirinale, which caused hera serious fracture.^[1]

After Napolitano's presidency, the couple moved into the family home in Monti and were often seen by neighbours without any escort.^[1]

Bittoni died on 10 September 2024, only two months before her 90th birthday.^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j "Clio Napolitano, morta la vedova dell'ex presidente della Repubblica Giorgio: aveva 89 anni". Il Messagero (in Italian). 10 September 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Clio Maria Bittoni" (PDF) (in Italian). Italian Presidency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 October 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
^ ^a ^b Ciro Cuozzo (23 September 2023). "Chi è Clio Maria Bittoni, moglie di Napolitano e avvocato dei braccianti: le dimissioni, l'incidente e la fila contro i privilegi del Quirinale". Il Riformista (in Italian). Retrieved 25 September 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c Alessandra Vitali (14 January 2015). "Clio Napolitano, la first lady cresciuta a pane e politica". La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 24 January 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Il messaggio di Clio Maria Bittoni". L'Ancora Online (in Italian). 23 April 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
^ "Giorgio e Clio, più di cinquant'anni insieme". Rai News (in Italian). 12 January 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
^ "Clio Napolitano, morta la vedova dell'ex presidente della Repubblica Giorgio: aveva 89 anni". Il Messaggero. 10 September 2024. Retrieved 10 September 2024.