After arriving in Rome on Monday morning, the Italian team, which was proclaimed European champion on Sunday, continued throughout the day of celebration. The ‘azzurri’ first visited the Qurinale Palace, where they were received by Sergio Mattarella, president of the Republic of Italy, and then the Chiggi Palace, where the president of the Council, Mario Draghi, was waiting for them.
Along with the European champions, who won the second European Championship in the history of Italy on penalties (the first, in 1968), during these visits to Quirinale and Chiggi was tennis player Matteo Berrettini, who lost the Wimbledon final on Sunday against Novak Djokovic.
Chiellini, captain of the ‘azzurra’ team, lifted the trophy before entering the Quirinale. And, in his parliament in that palace, before the President of the Republic, Chiellini moved everyone by saying that this European Championship “is dedicated to our Davide Astori.” Former Italian international Davide Astori died on March 4, 2018, at the age of 31, of a cardiac arrest while sleeping in his team's concentration hotel, Fiorentina.
Sergio Mattarella told the European champions that “you deserved the victory before the penalty shootout”.