Italian journalist and former MEP Barbara Spinelli dies at 80 in Rome
Italian journalist, author, and former Member of the European Parliament Barbara Spinelli has died in Rome at the age of 80, her family and European parliamentary sources announced on Wednesday.
Passing in Rome
Barbara Spinelli died on 7 October 2026 in Rome at the age of 80. European Parliament sources in Strasbourg and her family confirmed her death on Wednesday morning. Her family expressed gratitude to the medical team led by Professor Cortesi at the Villa del Rosario clinic in Rome. A private funeral service will be held according to her family's wishes.
A heartfelt thanks to Professor Cortesi, his staff, and all the personnel of the Villa del Rosario clinic for their loving care and great professionalism. The family thanks everyone who loved and esteemed her.
Decades in journalism
Born in Rome in May 1946, Spinelli established herself across five decades as an essayist, commentator, and foreign affairs analyst. In 1976, she was among the co-founders of the Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica. Over subsequent decades, she worked as a foreign correspondent based in Paris and Brussels, reporting on international relations and European politics. Her commentary appeared in leading Italian publications, including Corriere della Sera and La Stampa. Beginning in 2016, she contributed regular columns on international affairs to Il Fatto Quotidiano.
Institutional career and activism
Spinelli entered institutional politics following decades of analytical commentary in the press. In 2013, she joined figures from the political periodical MicroMega to contest the parliamentary eligibility of former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. Ahead of the 2014 European elections, she co-founded the left-wing electoral alliance L'Altra Europa con Tsipras. Running in the Central Italy constituency, she secured a seat in the European Parliament after winning more than 36,700 preferential votes.
- Born in Rome to Altiero Spinelli and Ursula Hirschmann
- Co-founds Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica
- Joins MicroMega petition challenging the eligibility of Silvio Berlusconi
- Co-founds L'Altra Europa con Tsipras and is elected to the European Parliament
- Leaves the Tsipras list to sit as an independent MEP in the GUE/NGL group
- Begins contributing regular columns to Il Fatto Quotidiano
- Concludes five-year legislative term in the European Parliament
- Passes away in Rome at the age of 80
In May 2015, Spinelli departed the Tsipras list following internal disagreements and served the remainder of her term as an independent member within the European United Left-Nordic Green Left group (GUE/NGL). Throughout her mandate, which concluded in 2019, she worked on issues concerning European Union institutions, fundamental rights, and foreign policy. The European Parliament delegation of Italy's Five Star Movement issued a statement reflecting on her work following the announcement of her death.
We learn with sadness and grief of the passing of Barbara Spinelli. For us, she was a friend and a colleague who guided and advised us on numerous occasions, first as a Member of the European Parliament and then as an editorialist and intellectual. With her voice, often critical and always recognizable, Barbara Spinelli kept attention high on the values of peace, social justice, and European integration. We send our condolences and closeness to her family. We will miss Barbara very much.
European federalist heritage
Spinelli was shaped by a household central to the development of the European federalist movement. Her father, Altiero Spinelli, was an anti-fascist political theorist who spent 10 years imprisoned by the Italian fascist regime and co-authored the 1941 Ventotene Manifesto before becoming a founding figure of the European Union. Her mother, Ursula Hirschmann, was a German-Jewish anti-fascist activist and prominent advocate for European federalism. Spinelli was also the longtime partner of the late Italian economist and minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, maintaining that philosophical legacy throughout her public life.
