We are saddened to announce the passing of our member Antonio Foresi on September 20. Antonio served as a correspondent for Italian broadcaster RAI for a quarter of a century, from 1976 to 2001. Born in Livorno in 1938, Antonio witnessed World War II, the post-war peace of 1945, and later traveled across Europe with his father during the formative years of the European Community, a journey he reflected on in his 2021 book L’ABC dell’Europa.
Antonio began his journalistic career in 1958 as a sports reporter before joining RAI. In 1973, he was assigned to Paris as a radio correspondent, and in 1976, he moved to Brussels, where he made the Belgian capital his home. For 25 years, he became the face of Italian public television, reporting on European integration and policies from Brussels, as well as covering NATO extensively.
In 2001, he co-authored The ABC of Europe with his colleague Mario Sensini. Over his 25-year tenure as a correspondent in Brussels, Strasbourg, Luxembourg, and other European capitals, Antonio witnessed and reported on all the key moments of recent European history with precision and insight.
One of the most intense and exciting periods of his career occurred between 1989 and 1991, when he covered the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of the USSR, the creation of the single market, and the development of the European Union and the single European currency.
Antonio also reflected on the 1985 accession of Spain and Portugal to the then-European Economic Community, describing it as a moment when “the contagion of democracy led to the fall of fascism” in these countries, ushering in a new phase of European integration.
Antonio Foresi was a valued member of API-IPA and served as the representative of the Italian press on the API Council. We extend our deepest condolences to his wife, Mary Ann, his son Simone, and his daughter Sara.
The funeral service for Antonio Foresi will take place on Thursday, October 3, at 14:00 at Sainte-Alix Church, Parvis Sainte-Alix, Woluwe St. Pierre.
