At the height of his career, media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi, who served as the prime minister of Italy in four governments, controlled a staggering 90% of Italy’s national television broadcasting. This media empire, spanning both private channels like Mediaset and the state-run RAI, was a glossy, gaudy, and gossipy tool he used to distract, entertain, and ultimately influence the masses. German-born Italian photographer Stefano De Luigi, witnessing this firsthand, spent over a decade (from 1994 to 2008) capturing behind-the-scenes moments from Italy’s most popular reality shows and entertainme…
