Sonia Gandhi had left on August 23 to visit her ailing mother, who passed away on Saturday 27th August, funeral was on Sunday.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s mother Paola Maino passed away at her home in Italy on Saturday and her funeral took place on Sunday, the Congress said on Wednesday. Sonia Gandhi had left on August 23 to visit her ailing mother, who was in her 90s.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi writes, “Condolences to Sonia Gandhi Ji on the passing away of her mother, Mrs Paola Maino. May her soul rest in peace. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the entire family.”
Condolences to Sonia Gandhi Ji on the passing away of her mother, Mrs. Paola Maino. May her soul rest in peace. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the entire family.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 31, 2022
Jairam Ramesh of Congress General Secretary in-charge Communication writes, “Smt. Sonia Gandhi’s mother, Mrs. Paola Maino passed away at her home in Italy on Saturday. The funeral took place yesterday,” AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on Twitter.
Smt. Sonia Gandhi’s mother, Mrs. Paola Maino passed away at her home in Italy on Saturday the 27th August, 2022. The funeral took place yesterday.
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) August 31, 2022
Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul Gandhi and daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are already in Italy and are in her hometown. Apparently, Rahul Gandhi had visited his grandma several times as she was unwell, and appeared to be very close to his grandmother and her absence in their lives will be missed.
Paola Maino lived in in Lusiana (in Maini street), a historically Cimbrian-speaking village about 35 km from Vicenza in Veneto, Italy with her husband Stefano and had three girls, Sonia, Nadia and Anoushka. They were a traditional Roman Catholic Christian family.
Her husband Stefano, who was a building mason, founded a small construction business in Orbassano. He was a warrior and fought against the Soviet military alongside Hitler’s Wehrmacht on the eastern front in World War II, was a loyal supporter of Benito Mussolini.
Apparently, the family house had leather-bound books on the writings and speeches of Mussolini. In fact, Stefano her husband had named Sonia and her elder sister Nadia in memory of Italian participation in the Eastern Front. He died in 1983. His wife now dies on Saturday 27th August 2022, at the age of 91.