All of Sangiuliano's gaffes, from Times Square in London to Columbus sailing following Galileo

A champion of gaffes: former culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano will also be remembered for his reputation as a gaffeur. Several “pearls” he has strung together since his tenure at the Roman College. The most recent gaffe, before the Boccia scandal, was in August 2024, when a post appeared on the minister’s Instagram profile announcing the celebrations of the 2,500th anniversary of the founding of Naples, but the photo presenting the post spoke of the “two and a half centuries of Naples.” The post was corrected but the minister blamed the social media manager, saying he had “accepted his resignation” (although he later clarified that he had given him another role).

Before that, in June 2024, during the Taobuk literary festival in Taormina, Sangiuliano claimed that Christopher Columbus, in 1492, would have circumnavigated the Earth “based on the theories of Galileo Galilei.” However, Galileo was born more than 70 years after the discovery of America, and this output of his had created great embarrassment.

Going back even further, during the presentation of the new archaeological walk in Rome in April 2024, Sangiuliano said that Times Square is in London, instead of New York (“If we think of Paris, we think of the Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe, if we think of London we think of Times Square.”). He then tried to correct, explaining that he had confused the famous square with Piccadilly Circus.

Most famous, however, remains theStega Prize 2023 gaffe , when he let slip that he had not read the books he voted for the prize. The award ceremony, broadcast on Rai Tre, was hosted by comedian Geppi Cucciari, who asked Sangiuliano to address the audience with an invitation to read. The minister, doing it all on his own, invited the audience to read except then admitted in fact that he had not read the Strega Prize books: “I want to say to read, which is a fundamental thing, very beautiful, which enriches you, which makes you live existential moments. I have listened to the stories that are expressed in these books that are finalists tonight: they are all stories that grab you, that make you think. Here: I will try to read them.” Geppi Cucciari, visibly embarrassed, replied, “Ah, you haven’t read them?” And the minister, realizing the blatant gaffe, had replied, “Yes, I have read them because I voted, however, I want to, how should I say, deepen these volumes.” And Geppi Cucciari, with a prompt reply, “That is, besides the cover. Let’s hear it for our minister.”

Even further back in time, in January 2023, Sangiuliano declared that Dante Alighieri would be the founder of right-wing thought in Italy, arousing strong criticism for the historical interpretation considered highly personal and controversial of the Supreme Poet’s thought.

Less famous was the gaffe about the series dedicated to Oriana Fallaci: it was November 2022, Sangiuliano had recently become minister, and to Il Giornale he declared, “Enough with the funds given only to left-wing films. I will ask Rai to make a fiction about Indro Montanelli’s life and Oriana Fallaci’s life.” A fiction about Oriana Fallaci, however, had already been made by Rai (with Vittoria Puccini, directed by Marco Turco), and broadcast in 2015. Also in 2022, Sangiuliano was mocked by the web because he righted himself, complimenting his account, under one of his tweets.

These gaffes contributed to several discussions and criticisms during his administration of the Ministry of Culture. And which are now, at the time of his resignation, back in the news topic.

All of Sangiuliano's gaffes, from Times Square in London to Columbus sailing following Galileo

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.