Virginia Raggi of Italy's anti-establishment party Five Star Movement has become the first female mayor of Rome in nearly three millenia, and, at 37, also its youngest.
The historic win in a two-person runoff on Sunday came as a blow to Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's centre-left Democratic Party (PD), which won in Milan and Bologna.
After her victory, Reggi, a lawyer with a three-year stint as a city councilwoman, said her win marked a new era in politics.
Raggi, was quoted by the BBC, as saying she will, "work to bring legality and transparency to Rome's institutions after 20 years of poor governance".
Here are a few things you would like to know about Raggi:
Virginia Raggi is the first female mayor of Rome in its almost 2,800-year history
Raggi won with two-thirds of the votes cast in a runoff contest with Roberto Giachetti of Renzi's centre-left Democratic Party (DP), a true landslide victory.
She is also Rome's youngest mayor
Although Raggi turns 38 next month on July 18, she would still remain the youngest mayor of Rome.
She pedals for Rome and wants to make the city a 'livable' place
In an interview to Guardian, Raggi said "Our vision is of a city that is livable, first of all, which it is not at the moment, for all the Romans who live here".
She has pledged to take on the Vatican for allegedly unpaid taxes
Apart from making the city livable, Raggi has also pledged to pursue up to £310 million in allegedly unpaid taxes on the Vatican's real estate holdings and some of its assets, which she claims have never been collected by the city’s administration for fear of taking on the church.
She is opposed to Rome's bid for the 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games
Although she was totally against going in for the bid, it seems she might just go in for a referendum and let the city decide. Rome is bidding for the 2024 Games along Paris, Budapest and Los Angeles. The host city will be elected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in September 2017.
With inputs from Associated Press
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