Cristina Manetti, Giani's chief of staff, has had her license revoked: she is the candidate for the Department of Culture.
November 6, 2025
Cristina Manetti, chief of staff to Governor Eugenio Giani
Florence – According to traffic police, she was driving in the emergency lane to avoid traffic . They say the powerful cabinet secretary Cristina Manetti (a candidate for the Department of Culture in Eugenio Giani's second term in office) had felt ill, so much so that she called for an ambulance on the road from Prato to Florence , in the Sesto Fiorentino area. But the officers who stopped her confiscated her license for violating the traffic code and issued her a hefty fine.
Manetti, 45, formerly Giani's spokesperson, then cabinet chief, and now, in fact, councilor-designate for the Casa Riformista party (in place of an elected candidate from Italia Viva), has filed an appeal with the Justice of the Peace , who will decide on the suspension of the measure on November 27th, after submitting documentation for emergency reasons related to health conditions.
The day is crucial: October 13th, when Giani is about to celebrate his victory in Tuscany with Elly Schlein and the Democratic Party's top brass. Manetti is arriving in Florence; the moment is delicate, the victory is significant, and during the election campaign, Manetti coordinated the Giani list, which included Italia Viva and other parties. So much so that the president has decided that she will be the person to be nominated as the new Culture Councilor , without encountering public opposition from the leader of the Democratic Party, Matteo Renzi. But the unexpected happens, as reported by Corriere della Sera : she is stopped by the Highway Patrol and her license is confiscated.
Manetti's account to her loyalists—also reported in the appeal—is of a sudden dizziness that forced her to walk down the emergency lane until the patrol stopped. From there, the ambulance arrived and certified her health (as did subsequent checks performed at the hospital). This extremely thorny issue, which emerged just three days after the formation of the regional government , is nevertheless destined to spark a heated and controversial case.
La Nazione
