The funeral of former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi holds in the Gothic Duomo Cathedral, Milan, as thousands of people gathered to say farewell on Wednesday.

Berlusconi died on Monday aged 86 and his funeral ceremony would be shown live on big screens in the square.

The former AC Milan owner, adored and loathed by Italians in equal part, had been ill for several years, though he remained the official head of his right-wing Forza Italia party, a member of current prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s coalition government, the Journal.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Meloni and fellow coalition partner Matteo Salvini, head of the far-right League, are expected to attend the funeral, while the European Union will be represented by its economy commissioner Paolo Gentiloni.

Current or former world leaders are expected to present at the ceremony, which began already at 2 pm and will be presided over by Archbishop Mario Delpini.

The longest-serving premier in Italy’s post-war history, and re-elected to the Senate last year, Berlusconi was popular for his controversial gaffes on the international stage.

He counted President Vladimir Putin among his friends – but the Russian leader is subject to an international arrest warrant and cannot travel to Italy.

Berlusconi is survived by his 33-year-old girlfriend, Marta Fascina, with whom he held a fake wedding last year and who was at his bedside as he succumbed to a rare type of blood cancer.