ROME – Eugenio Scalfari, the founder of investigative journalism weekly L’Espresso and daily newspaper La Repubblica has died, his family said on Thursday. 

 Among the most significant figures of journalism, Eugenio Scalfari, who directed L’Espresso and La Repubblica for 20 years, died on Thursday morning.

 The President of the Senate, Elisabetta Casellati gave a short commemoration speech and a minute of silence in the Chamber for the important journalist.

 “Scalfari was the absolute protagonist of the history of journalism in post-war Italy. The clarity of his prose, the depth of his analyses, the courage of his ideas has accompanied Italians for over seventy years and have made his editorials a fundamental reading for anyone wishing to understand politics and economics,” said Italian Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, paying his respects to Scalfari’s loved ones and all the journalists of L’Espresso and La Repubblica. 

 Secretary of the Democratic Party, Enrico Letta, tweeted, “Eugenio Scalfari. We are already missing him. His ideas, his passion, his deep love for Italy will always remain with us.”

 “Eugenio Scalfari was an example of civil journalism, a profound intellectual who made a mark on the history of the Italian Republic with this work,” said Culture Minister Dario Franceschini.

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