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È dead at the age of 95 Giancarlo Gentilini, nicknamed the “sheriff”, historic mayor of Treviso and central figure of local politics. First citizen from 1994 to 2003, he was an undisputed protagonist of the administrative panorama and one of the most well-known faces of the Northern League.
Condolences from the mayor Mario Conte
"Our Lion has moved on. In recent days, unfortunately, his condition had worsened due to some ailments due to age. We have lost a great man, a very important reference for values and abilities. Gentilini has honored his commitment from the beginning to the end, trying to be always present in the administrative life of the City with his advice and his reports even after having concluded the administrative mandate“, are the words of the mayor Mario Conte.
The mayor underlined that Giancarlo Gentilini wrote the Story with the pragmatism that has always been the trademark of the Alpini. He added that everyone will carry within themselves the great teaching that Gentilini left, pronounced in the last session as a municipal councilor, in which he expressed his desire that “they loved Treviso as he loved it”. He then highlighted that this sentence perfectly summed up Gentilini's personality: passion, energy and concreteness.
The 'sheriff' mayor of Treviso has died: who was Giancarlo Gentilini
Giancarlo Gentilini was elected mayor of Treviso with the Northern League in 1994, holding the office for two consecutive terms until 2003. He subsequently continued his political commitment as deputy mayor and city councilor until 2023.
Known by various nicknames, including “Genty”, “the Sheriff” and “SuperG”, Gentilini has always shown great pride in his Serravalle origins, meaning “Serravalle” in a broad sense, well beyond the confines of the historic center. His impact on politics has remained indelible, starting from the memorable presentation of Da Re's candidacy at the Bar Lux, where Gentilini performed a real "show", accompanied by the famous "blessing" to the "moustache" of the Carroccio. At the same time, he launched his famous definition of “frogs” for the other candidates mayors.
Although Gentilini never administered his hometown, but always the capital, he himself declared on that occasion that "it is a city that now goes ahead on its own".
The memory of Luca Zaia
After the news, the President of the Veneto Region, Luca Zaia, also spoke out to pay homage to the memory of Giancarlo Gentilini. His words outline the profile of a man who left an indelible mark on the political and civil life of the city, remembered not only for his unmistakable style and passion for the territory, but also for his concrete closeness to the citizens.
“He went down in history with the nickname 'sheriff' but, in his case, the term was very reductive. He was a man of the institutions before being a politician, a great public administrator who in the years of the end of the first republic was able to grasp and intercept the feelings of the people., of what he called 'my people', and thanks to this gift, like few others, he was able to give a good government response to a city and become a model for generations of mayors in many parts of Italy. Among the first directly elected mayors, he gave an interpretation of this role as close as possible to the citizens. He made the history of Treviso and the Veneto had a flag in him. A man of character, he changed the course of history, not only because he demonstrated that the League was a party that could administer and do it well but also because he changed the approach of public administration".
Zaia recalled how Giancarlo Gentilini was instrumental in making the League a recognized presence even within the public administration, in a historical period in which this was not at all a given. He underlined that the turning point came in 1994, with his candidacy that led to the conquest of the Municipality of Treviso, starting what he defined as "a real political gallop".
The president said he met Gentilini in those moments, in 1993, when a shared experience was born that would bind them for a long time. He added that they spoke often, and that there was always a phone call on August 3, the former mayor's birthday. “Now that he is no longer here,” he said with emotion, “it will never be the same.”