Heartfelt Ceremony: Showing Our Support

“We couldn’t not be there both from a personal point of view and to represent our city. I think our presence was important, it was a very touching and heartfelt ceremony. I think we owed it to Rocco, a person who loved our city, Fiorentina, very much and with whom I have a whole series of memories.” This was declared by the mayor of Florence Sara Funaro who today attended Rocco Commisso’s funeral in New York. “He was a direct man, with great empathy, with clear objectives and with whom it was possible to have a very frank dialogue – he added -. For me from a personal point of view and for the city of Florence I think it is the minimum to be here in the presence of the ceremony. The last time we met at Viola Park, on his last trip to Florence. The first meeting we had at Palazzo Vecchio together with Rocco and Catherine to whom today I renewed the embrace of our entire city: it was a very beautiful moment, they arrived together, it was a very direct appointment in which we spoke to each other in a very frank way. The thing that has always struck me, from the first date, is the great respect and great sense of family that he has always had: I think this is an extraordinary quality.”

Aiko Tanaka

Aiko Tanaka is a combat sports journalist and general sports reporter at Archysport. A former competitive judoka who represented Japan at the Asian Games, Aiko brings firsthand athletic experience to her coverage of judo, martial arts, and Olympic sports. Beyond combat sports, Aiko covers breaking sports news, major international events, and the stories that cut across disciplines — from doping scandals to governance issues to the business side of global sport. She is passionate about elevating the profile of underrepresented sports and athletes.

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