Flavia Franzoni, professor and wife of Italy's ex-Premier Romano Prodi, dies during hike at 76

The wife of former Italian Premier Romano Prodi has died during a hike in Umbria

Italy Obit Franzoni (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Flavia Franzoni, a professor of social work and the wife of former Italian Premier Romano Prodi, died Tuesday during a hike in Umbria, Italy’s rescue service said. She was 76.

The Prodis and others were walking along the Via di Francesco, a popular pilgrimage route between Gubbio and Assisi, when Franzoni collapsed, news reports said. The Umbrian branch of the national Alpine rescue corps said two teams responded to an emergency call and found Franzoni unconscious. Medics tried to resuscitate her, but “there was nothing more to be done” and a doctor pronounced her dead at the scene, the corps said.

The statement noted that the resuscitation efforts occurred during a violent thunderstorm that prevented a helicopter from landing and evacuating Franzoni.

Franzoni, a professor of social work at the University of Bologna, was often at Prodi’s side during his political career. Long a figurehead of Italy's center-left, Prodi served two stints as premier starting in 1996, after he founded the center-left Olive party, and again in 2006. He was European Commission president for five years starting in 1999.

Condolences poured in from across the political spectrum, including from the Italian president and interior minister. Franzoni's death came as Italy was already mourning the death of ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi, long the leader of Italy’s center-right.

Franzoni is survived by Prodi and their sons, Giorgio and Antonio, and grandchildren, according to a statement from Prodi’s office, which announced the death.