La Gomera left a lasting impression on Giorgia Meloni during childhood. The leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, who won last Sunday’s election, has long had a close bond with the Canary Islands, often spending summers on its streets and beaches. This connection began with his father, Francesco Meloni. Known as Franco, the accountant moved to the Canary Islands in the 1980s after leaving his family when Giorgia was only two. He describes this move in his daughter Giorgia’s autobiography, I am Giorgia, published in 2021.
The link between politics and the Canary Islands has a sharp edge. The man who could become Italy’s first female president sailed to La Gomera on a ship named the Caballo Loco and never returned home. Since then, family contact has been limited to two-week visits each year by Giorgia and her sister Arianna, who spent time with their father at Santiago Beach, according to residents. They reportedly ate at well-known restaurants along the coast of Alajeró and enjoyed quiet afternoons on the beach.
Residents of the island say Francesco Meloni arrived in La Gomera seeking a fresh life in a paradise close to Europe, where he led what locals describe as a lively, even “crazy,” existence. The digital outlet GomeraNoticias confirms that the accountant worked in La Gomera from the 1980s into the 1990s and owned a well-known restaurant, Marqués de Oristano, for about ten years. The eatery stood in the former Casa de Los Ayala and was later acquired by the Cabildo de La Gomera, becoming part of the historic buildings that now house UNED headquarters.
Italian politics brought both joyful and challenging moments to Meloni, captured in her autobiography. One of the most daunting memories dates back to when she was three years old and nearly drowned after her father left them aboard a boat with a nanny who could not swim. Meloni has since acknowledged that the fear of drowning has been one of her deepest anxieties.
never again
Her time in the Canary Islands ended when Giorgia was eleven. She recalls a difficult conversation with her father about not seeing him again. With that moment, Meloni’s ties to La Gomera faded. In the book, she describes a telegram she sent for his thirteenth birthday, saying, “Happy birthday, Franco.” The message underscores how that episode shaped her perception and decision-making as she moved forward in life. After that, the only contact with her father was that terse birthday note; his death from leukemia a couple of years ago elicited little emotion, something she described in interviews as watching a TV character perish.
The father-daughter relationship left a lasting mark. Meloni’s experiences in the Canary Islands helped shape her personality and later her political views. Neighbors on La Gomera say he had siblings on the island from a later relationship with a domestic worker he employed during his time there. Some locals claim Meloni has four half-siblings on La Gomera and that she has little knowledge of them. These revelations feed into a broader narrative about family dynamics and personal history.
Meloni’s stance on family and social policies has long reflected her early life challenges. She has defended traditional family structures and argued against same-sex couples and single-parent households, linking these views to the absence of a father during her upbringing. She has spoken about the pain of growing up with a missing father and how that experience fueled her resolve and resilience in both personal and professional realms.
Yet the La Gomera chapter also yielded positive outcomes. Meloni’s time there contributed to her language skills, which she still relies on today. This linguistic foundation surfaced again on June 12 at a Vox rally in Marbella, where she addressed a crowd in fluent Spanish. Earlier, Meloni and Vox leader Santiago Abascal shared a platform at a January 2021 roundtable on European patriotism, a moment noted as a precursor to broader regional support. Vox’s leadership warmly congratulated Meloni after her victory, saying she showed the way to a proud, free Europe and sovereign nations.
Today, Giorgia Meloni, now 45, stands at the helm of a political movement that has surged from a modest 4% share to about a quarter of the vote in recent elections. Her core priorities focus on stopping immigration, defending the traditional family, asserting national sovereignty, and safeguarding Italy’s homeland. The arc of her life—the early years in Rome and La Gomera, the fire that displaced her family, and the evolution of a political path—continues to shape her approach to governance and public life. Her mother, Anna Paratore, and her sister remain central figures in her daily life, and the family’s early experiences in Rome, disrupted by a fire, helped propel her toward a career in politics that began at a young age and matured through decades of public service and leadership. The journey from a neighborhood torn by upheaval to the pinnacle of national politics highlights how personal history can influence political ideology and national debate. This narrative provides context for Meloni’s enduring commitment to her chosen path and the ambitions she now pursues on the national stage, with a focus on sovereignty, security, and the future of Italy.