100 Notable alumni of University of Milan

Alessio Vinci is an Italian journalist, working for CNN since 1989. He has served as CNN's bureau chief in Belgrade from 1999 to 2000 and in Rome from 2001 up to the present. He was the host of Matrix, a news and debate television program on Mediaset's Canale 5, from 2009 and 2012.

Gian Battista "Gianni" Canova is an Italian film critic, essayist, television writer and academic.

Giovanni Raboni was an Italian poet, translator and literary critic.

Luigi Veronelli was an Italian gastronome, wine critic, anarchist and intellectual.

Attilio Fontana is an Italian politician from Varese, Lombardy. He has served as President of Lombardy since 2018 leading a centre-right coalition.

Margherita Maccapani Missoni Amos is an Italian fashion designer, model, socialite and heiress to her family's Missoni fashion house, which was founded by her grandparents Ottavio Missoni and Rosita Missoni Jelmini. Missoni currently lives in Montonate, a suburb of Mornago (Italy) close to the Missoni headquarters, where she is following her design career.

Carlo Sini is an Italian philosopher and one of the leading figures in contemporary Italian philosophy, mainly known for his studies about language and hermeneutics, following the work of Charles Sanders Peirce.

Valerio Onida was an Italian jurist, and constitutional law professor, Judge of the Constitutional Court of Italy and President of the Court from September 2004 to January 2005.

Emilio Del Bono is an Italian politician from the Democratic Party and former mayor of Brescia.

Vittorio Sereni was an Italian poet, author, editor and translator. His poetry frequently addressed the themes of 20th-century Italian history, such as Fascism, Italy's military defeat in World War II, and its postwar resurgence.

Roberto Cota is an Italian politician, President of Piedmont from 2010 to 2014.

Gianfranco Manfredi was an Italian singer-songwriter, composer, author, screenwriter, actor and cartoonist.

Marco Balzano is an Italian writer. He was born in Milan, where he now works as a teacher of literature in a high school.

Vittorio Emanuele Agnoletto is an Italian doctor, politician and a former Member of the European Parliament for the Southern Italy constituency. He was first elected in the 2004 European Parliament elections as independent on the Communist Refoundation Party (Italian: Partito della Rifondazione Comunista, PRC) list, part of the European Left. He was not re-elected in the 2009 European Parliament elections.

Andrea Rossi is an Italian entrepreneur who claimed to have invented a cold fusion device.

Guido Piovene was an Italian writer and journalist.

Guido Morselli was an Italian novelist and essayist.

Eugenio Coșeriu was a linguist who specialized in Romance languages at the University of Tübingen, author of over 50 books, honorary member of the Romanian Academy.

Maria Cristina Messa is an Italian doctor and academic, Minister of University and Research in the government of Mario Draghi.

Curzio Maltese was an Italian journalist and politician.

Camilla Cederna was an Italian writer and editor. She is said to have introduced investigative journalism to the Italian news media. Some sources give her year of birth as 1921. Cederna was born and grew up in Milan. She was daughter of Giulio Cederna, a business manager and footballer, and brother to Antonio Cederna, a co-founder of Italia Nostra.

Eugenio Colorni was an Italian philosopher and anti-fascist activist.

Sergio Romano is an Italian diplomat, writer, journalist, and historian. He is a columnist for the newspaper Corriere della Sera. Romano is also a former Italian ambassador to Moscow.

Teresa Sarti Strada, née Teresa Sarti was an Italian teacher, pacifist and philanthropist who, together with her husband Gino Strada, founded Emergency, an NGO dedicated to providing free medical treatment to the victims of war, poverty and land mines. She was the organization's first president.

Gabriele Albertini is an Italian politician.

Enrico Bombieri is an Italian mathematician, known for his work in analytic number theory, Diophantine geometry, complex analysis, and group theory. Bombieri is currently professor emeritus in the School of Mathematics at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. Bombieri won the Fields Medal in 1974 for his work on the large sieve and its application to the...

Gianni Mura was an Italian sports journalist and writer.

Sandrone Dazieri is a popular Italian crime writer. His most famous work is the Gorilla series, an episode of which was also dramatized as a television film.

Eva Cantarella is an Italian classicist. She is professor of Roman law and ancient Greek law at the University of Milan, and has served as Dean of the Law School at the University of Camerino.

Enrico Baj was an Italian artist and writer on art. Many of his works show an obsession with nuclear war. He created prints, and sculptures but especially collage. He was close to the surrealist and dada movements, and was later associated with CoBrA. As an author, he has been described as a leading promoter of the avant-garde. He worked with...

Fausto Cercignani is an Italian scholar, essayist and poet.

Gianfelice Mario Rocca is an Italian billionaire businessman. He is chairman of the Techint Group and Istituto Clinico Humanitas.

Paolo Zangrillo is an Italian politician and business executive, and the Minister for Public Administration in the Meloni government since 22 October 2022.

Claudio Descalzi is an Italian businessman, and the CEO of Italian oil company Eni since May 2014.

Corrado Alvaro was an Italian journalist and writer of novels, short stories, screenplays and plays. He often used the verismo style to describe the hopeless poverty in his native Calabria. His first success was Gente in Aspromonte (Revolt in Aspromonte), which examined the exploitation of rural peasants by greedy landowners in Calabria, and is considered by many critics to be...

Giuliomaria Terzi di Sant'Agata is an Italian diplomat and politician. He was Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs in Mario Monti's government from November 2011 until March 2013, Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations in New York between 2008 and 2009 and Ambassador of Italy to the United States between 2009 and 2011. He is currently a Senator of...

Tomasz Piątek is a Polish journalist and writer. He is the author of several books, both fiction and non-fiction. For his reporting on the Polish Ministry of Defense he received the 2017 Press Freedom Award in 2017 from Reporters Without Borders. In 2018 he received a similar award from Medienstiftung der Sparkasse Leipzig.

Lasse Braun was an Italian pornographer, film director, producer, screenwriter, novelist and researcher.

Gregorio Maria de Falco is an Italian naval officer and politician who was formerly a member of the Italian Senate. He is best known for his career in the Italian Navy, which saw his intervention in the attempt to solve the Costa Concordia disaster in January 2012.

Chicco Testa is an Italian politician. Born in Bergamo, he graduated in philosophy at the Università Statale in Milan (1976). He lives in Rome and has two sons.

Vittorio Guido Zucconi was an Italian journalist and author. He also had U.S. citizenship.

Antonia Pozzi was an Italian poet.

Riccardo Giacconi was an Italian-American Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist who laid down the foundations of X-ray astronomy. He was a professor at the Johns Hopkins University.

Rossana Rossanda was an Italian communist politician, journalist, and feminist.

Andrea Vitali is an Italian writer.

Andrea De Carlo is an Italian novelist. He has published almost two dozen novels, many of which have been translated.

Ombretta Colli is an Italian singer, actress and politician. She was president of the Province of Milan from June 1999 to June 2004.

Fedele Confalonieri is an Italian manager and president of Mediaset and since 2017, he has served as president of the Venerable Factory of the Duomo of Milan.

Michele Cucuzza is an Italian journalist, news speaker and television presenter.

Federico Buffa is an Italian journalist, writer and television sportscaster.

Giuliano Pisapia is an Italian lawyer, politician, former mayor of Milan, former member of the Italian Parliament and former member of the European Parliament. As a politician, he has been a member of two left-wing parties, first Proletarian Democracy and then the Communist Refoundation Party; in Milan's mayoral election, he was endorsed by a large left-wing coalition, after winning the...

Umberto Pelizzari is an Italian freediver, widely considered among the best of all time. Of his era, he is the sole person to have established world records in all the then existing disciplines of freediving.

Elena Cattaneo OMRI is an Italian pharmacologist and co-founding director of the University of Milan's Center for Stem Cell Research.

Giuseppe Valditara is an Italian academic and politician. He has been the Italian Minister of Education and Merit in the Meloni Cabinet from 22 october 2022.

Alberto Camerini is an Italian singer-songwriter and musician, who was commercially most active during the late-1970s and early-1980s.

Michele Serra is an Italian journalist, writer, and satirist.

Roberto Calderoli is an Italian politician and a member of the Senate of the Republic. He was a Minister without portfolio for Legislative Simplification in the Berlusconi IV Cabinet. He previously served as Minister without portfolio for Reforms and Devolution in the Berlusconi II Cabinet (since 20 June 2004) and in the Berlusconi III Cabinet (until 18 February 2006, when...

Giuseppe "Pippo" Civati is an Italian politician and publisher who was a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 2013 to 2018. Civati began his political career in the local politics of the 1990s with the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS). Civati went through the successors of the PDS, including the Democrats of the Left (DS) and the Democratic...

Francesco Carrozzini is an Italian-born director and photographer based in the United States. In 2016, he made his feature directorial debut at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival with the documentary Franca: Chaos and Creation. In 2022, his first narrative feature, The Hanging Sun, closed the 79th Venice International Film Festival. He is known for his portrait photography and has...

Luigi Manconi is an Italian academic and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he was a senator from 1994 to 2001 and again from 2013 to 2018.

Davide Mengacci is an Italian television host who has been working in television since 1986. From 2000 to 2005 he worked on the show La domenica del villaggio with Mara Carfagna, who in May 2008 was appointed Minister for Equal Opportunity in the fourth cabinet of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Mengacci is also a photographer, and has written the book...

Claudio Martelli is an Italian former politician and journalist. He is the editor-in-chief of the former Italian Socialist Party (PSI) newspaper Avanti! The right-hand man of Bettino Craxi, the PSI leader and Prime Minister of Italy from 1983 to 1987, Martelli was Deputy Prime Minister of Italy from 1989 to 1992 and Minister of Justice from 1991 to 1993, when...

Salomone Moni Ovadia is a Bulgarian-born Italian Jewish actor, musician, singer, theatrical author, and activist. His theatrical performances reference Eastern European Jewish culture and historical Yiddish culture.

Ilaria Salis is an Italian politician, activist, writer and teacher. She was elected as a Member of the European Parliament in 2024 for the Green and Left Alliance.

Giorgio Ambrosoli was an Italian lawyer who was gunned down while investigating the malpractice of banker Michele Sindona.

Rita Rusić, also known as Rita Cecchi Gori, is a Croatian-born Italian producer, actress and singer. Rusić's career began as an actress with a major role in the 1982 film Attila flagello di Dio. She was eventually moved into the film industry, with Il pentito in 1982. Later that year she also began filming Joan Lui - Ma un giorno...

Fabiola Gianotti is an Italian experimental particle physicist who served as Director-General of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) from 2016 to 2026.

Paolo Cognetti is an Italian writer and filmmaker, winner of the 2017 Strega Prize.

Giovanni Toti is an Italian journalist and politician, who has been President of Liguria from 2015 to 2024. Toti was also elected to the European Parliament, following the 2014 European Parliament election.

Roberto Ernesto Maroni was an Italian politician from Varese and a past President of Lombardy. He was the leader of the Northern League, a party seeking autonomy or independence for Northern Italy or Padania. From 1992 to 2013 he was a Member of the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Republic, always elected in Lombard constituencies. He served as Deputy...

Antonio Scurati is an Italian writer and academic. A professor of comparative literature and creative writing at the IULM University of Milan, mass media scholar and editorialist for the Corriere della Sera, Scurati has won the main Italian literary prizes. In 2019, he was awarded the prestigious Strega Prize for his novel M: Son of the Century (2018), the first...

Angelo Branduardi is an Italian folk/folk rock singer-songwriter and composer who scored relative success in Italy and European countries such as France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and Greece.

Marta Cartabia is an Italian jurist and academic who served as Minister of Justice in the national unity government of Prime Minister Mario Draghi. Cartabia previously was Judge of the Constitutional Court of Italy between 2011 and 2020, Vice President from 12 November 2014 to 11 December 2019 and President from 11 December 2019 to 13 September 2020. She is...

Maurizio Pollini was an Italian pianist and conductor. He was known for performances of Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, and the Second Viennese School, among others. He championed works by contemporary composers, including Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, George Benjamin, Roberto Carnevale, Gianluca Cascioli and Bruno Maderna. Several compositions were written for him, including Luigi Nono's... sofferte onde serene..., Giacomo Manzoni's Masse: omaggio...

Gianluigi Paragone is an Italian politician and journalist.

Dino Risi was an Italian film director. With Mario Monicelli, Luigi Comencini, Nanni Loy, and Ettore Scola, he was one of the masters of commedia all'italiana.

Antonella Clerici is an Italian television host and journalist, best known for her longtime activity as a cooking show presenter. She was the fourth woman to present Sanremo Music Festival (2010), after Loretta Goggi (1986), Raffaella Carrà (2001) and Simona Ventura (2004).

Marina Elvira Berlusconi is an Italian businesswoman. She is the chairwoman of the holding company Fininvest and the publishing company Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, the latter being the biggest publishing company in Italy. She is the oldest daughter of businessman and former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Vincenzo "Enzo" Jannacci was an Italian singer-songwriter, pianist, actor and comedian. He is regarded as one of the most important artists in the post-war Italian music scene.

Gino Strada was an Italian war surgeon, human rights activist, peace activist, and founder of Emergency, a recognized international non-governmental organization.

Antonio Di Pietro is an Italian politician, lawyer and magistrate. He was a minister in government of Romano Prodi, a Senator, and a Member of the European Parliament. He was a prosecutor in the Mani pulite corruption trials in the early 1990s.

Letizia Maria Moratti is an Italian businesswoman and politician. She was president of RAI (1994–1996), Minister of Education, University and Research (2001–2006), mayor of Milan (2006–2011), and president of the board of directors of UBI Banca (2019–2020). In January 2021, she was appointed vice president and Assessor of Welfare of Lombardy.

Rudy Zerbi is an Italian radio television personality, personality, record producer, disc jockey and television presenter.

Dino Buzzati-Traverso was an Italian novelist, short story writer, painter and poet, as well as a journalist for Corriere della Sera. His worldwide fame is mostly due to his novel The Tartar Steppe, although he is also known for his well-received collections of short stories.

Carlo Fortunato Pietro Ponti Sr. Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian film producer with more than 140 productions to his credit. Along with Dino De Laurentiis, he is credited with reinvigorating and popularizing Italian cinema post-World War II, producing some of the country's most acclaimed and financially-successful films of the 1950s and 1960s.

Elisabetta Canalis is an Italian actress and showgirl.

Miuccia Bianchi Prada is an Italian billionaire fashion designer and businesswoman. She is the head designer of Prada and the founder of its subsidiary Miu Miu. As of October 2021, Forbes estimated her net worth at US$4.8 billion. In August 2021, Bloomberg estimated her net worth to be $6.6 billion, ranking 430th in the world.

Enrico Mentana is an Italian journalist and television presenter. He founded the Italian news programme TG5 and directed it from 1992 to 2004. In 2005, as Canale 5's editorial director, he conceived and curated the talk show Matrix until his resignation in 2009 due to a disagreement with the network. Since June 2010 he has been the director of the...

Matilde Lojacono, known professionally as Matilde Gioli, is an Italian television and film actress.

Giorgio Armani was an Italian fashion designer and founder of the Armani luxury fashion house. Widely regarded as among the most influential designers in contemporary fashion, Armani initially gained recognition for his work with fashion house Cerruti 1881, before founding his own label in 1975. He became known for minimalist, deconstructed silhouettes—especially his jackets and suits—which are said to have...

Lelio Basso was an Italian democratic socialist politician.

Alberto Mantovani Commendatore OMRI is an Italian physician and immunologist. He is Scientific Director of Istituto Clinico Humanitas (Humanitas Clinical and Research Center), President and Founder of the Fondazione Humanitas per la Ricerca, and Professor of Pathology at the State University of Milan. He is known for his works in the roles of the immune system in the development of...

Nino Alberto Arbasino was an Italian writer, essayist, and politician.

Elena Bonetti is an Italian politician and mathematician who served as Minister for Family and Equal Opportunities between 2019 and 2022.

Umberto Veronesi M.D. Knight Grand Cross OMRI was an Italian oncologist, physician, scientist, and politician, internationally known for his contributions on prevention and treatment of breast cancer throughout a career spanning over fifty years. He was the founder and president of the Umberto Veronesi Foundation. He also founded and held the role of scientific director and scientific director emeritus of...

Mario Capanna is an Italian politician and writer.

Benedetto "Bettino" Craxi was an Italian politician and statesman, leader of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) from 1976 to 1993, and the 45th prime minister of Italy from 1983 to 1987. He was the first PSI member to become prime minister and the second from a socialist party to hold the office. He led the fourth-longest government in the Italian...

Melissa Satta is an Italian television presenter. She was a showgirl in the Italian satirical series Striscia la notizia. Satta has appeared in Maxim magazine and was featured in the 2010 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Satta lives and works in Italy.

Filippo Grandi is an Italian diplomat and United Nations official, who has served as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 2016 to 2025. He previously served as Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and United Nations Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan. He received the Olympic Laureate award during...