Paola Maino, the mother of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, passed away on Saturday at her residence in Italy, and her funeral was held on Sunday, according to the Congress. On August 23, Sonia Gandhi left for an elderly mother who was in her 90s in order to visit her.

“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,” AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh tweeted.

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Who was Paola Maino?

Paola Maino was the mother of Sonia Gandhi, the Indian National Congress president. Paola was married to Stefano Maino, with whom she had two other children – Nadia and Anoushka. The family lived in Lusiana, a small Cimbrian- speaking village in Italy, about 35km away from Vincenza in Veneto. The family was a traditional Roman Catholic one.

Stefano was a building mason who fought alongside Hitler’s Wehrmacht on the eastern front in World War II against the Soviet military, and was a loyal supporter of Benito Mussolini and Italy’s National Fascist Party. The family used to own leather bound books of writings of Mussolini. Stefano named Sonia and Nadia in the memory of Italian participation in the Eastern front.

Also read: Narendra Modi condoles death of Sonia Gandhi’s mother Paola Maino

Paola passed away on August 27, in her hometown of Lusiana, flanked by her daughter Sonia Gandhi, and grandchildren, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi.

The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his condolences to Sonia Gandhi on her mother’s passing. 

“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,” Modi tweeted.

Other Indian political leaders also extended their condolences towards Gandhi.