Italian President Mattarella to visit Malta

Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella will be visiting Malta next Wednesday on an official state visit.

During his short stay in Malta, Mattarella, 73, will meet Maltese President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca and Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.

Mattarella, formerly a constitutional court judge, was elected President in January succeeding Giorgio Napolitano who stood down earlier the same month citing “signs of fatigue”.

Mattarella was nominated for the post by Italy’s Premier Matteo Renzi.

Mattarella comes from a prominent Sicilian family which bears the scars of a painful fight against organised crime.  In 1980, the Mafia shot and killed Mattarella's elder brother Piersanti, then the island's governor.

He entered politics three years later, as a member of parliament for the now-defunct Christian Democrat party.

He later became a minister in several governments and once stood down in opposition to plans to make it easier for Silvio Berlusconi's media empire to expand.