Gianluca Festa (politician)

Gianluca Festa
Mayor of Avellino
In office
28 June 2019 – 16 April 2024
Preceded byVincenzo Ciampi
Succeeded byLaura Nargi
Personal details
Born (1974-08-13) 13 August 1974 (age 50)[1]
Avellino, Campania, Italy[1]
Political partyIndependent[1]
Alma materUniversity of Sannio[1]
Professionemployee,[1] basketball player
Gianluca Festa
S.S. Felice Scandone
LeagueSerie A
Personal information
Born (1974-08-13) 13 August 1974 (age 50)
Avellino, Italy
NationalityItalian
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight207 lb (94 kg)
Career information
High schoolUniversity of Sannio
Playing career1999–2001
Number99
Career history
1999–2001S.S. Felice Scandone

Gianluca Festa (born 13 August 1974 in Avellino) is an Italian politician and former professional basketball player.[2]

He played the role of shooting guard for the S.S. Felice Scandone for the season '99-'00 scoring 2 points in a single match and again in the season '00-'01 scoring a maximum of 2 points in a single match.

Festa ran as an independent for the office of Mayor of Avellino at the 2019 local elections, supported by a coalition formed by centre-left and civic parties.[3] He was elected on 9 June and took office on 28 June 2019.[3][4][5] Festa was subject to a large amount of attention from the media on 31 May 2020 when he gathered with local youth in a main street of his city to chant controversial songs against the city of Salerno, despite the social distancing restrictions in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6][7][8]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 June 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  2. ^ "Gianluca Festa, Guardia". Lega Basket. 23 January 2000. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Avellino elegge il nuovo sindaco. Gianluca Festa vince per 692 voti: "Ho rinnovato la città". Ecco il nuovo Consiglio". Nuova Irpinia. 9 June 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  4. ^ "Gianluca Festa proclamato Sindaco di Avellino. Entro 7 giorni la giunta". Nuova Irpinia. 28 June 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  5. ^ "Avellino, è il giorno di Festa: "Avellino rinascerà". Ecco il nuovo Consiglio Comunale". Irpinia Oggi. 28 June 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  6. ^ "Movida con il sindaco ad Avellino. Folla tra cori e pugni alzati: "Noi non siamo salernitani"". Huffingtonpost. 31 May 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  7. ^ Marino, Ivan (31 May 2020). "Assembramenti e cori contro Salerno: notte di follia per Gianluca Festa, sindaco di Avellino". InterNapoli.it (in Italian). InterNapoli. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  8. ^ "Avellino, la follia del sindaco Festa: "dirige" giovani in assembramento" (in Italian). Il Mattino. 31 May 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.