By Giulia Segreti
ROME (Reuters) -Italy's culture minister admitted in a tearful prime time TV interview to an affair with a woman who claimed to have been hired as an aide, in a case that is testing the solidity of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government.
The fate of Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano has dominated the front pages of Italian newspapers and created a headache for Meloni on her return from her summer holiday.
Meloni, at the head of a right-wing coalition since Oct. 2022, has remained loyal to the team she appointed, bringing a rare period of political stability to Italy.
However, Sangiuliano, a 62-year-old former journalist, has faced a media storm over the role of Maria Rosaria Boccia, a self-proclaimed fashion entrepreneur who last week posted on Instagram that she had been nominated "Advisor to the minister for major events".
The opposition questioned the role, asking whether she was benefiting from public funds and had access to confidential documents relating to a meeting of G7 culture ministers scheduled for this month.
"The first person I have to apologise to is an exceptional person, my wife. Then I apologise to Giorgia Meloni, who trusted me, for embarrassing her and the government," an emotional Sangiuliano told TG1 news, on national broadcaster RAI, his voice breaking.
He said that Meloni had rejected his offer to resign.
In a post on Instagram, Boccia suggested that her relationship with the minister was being used for political purposes.
"Others have, in a small minded way, exploited a human situation which is having painful consequences for me. I am defending my dignity," Boccia posted.
On Thursday, MP Angelo Bonelli, from the opposition Green Europe party, said he had filed a legal complaint against Sangiuliano on the grounds of embezzlement and disclosing confidential information.
Sangiuliano said that "not a single euro" of public money had been spent on Boccia and her involvement in planning for the G7 Culture Meeting had been limited to peripheral matters such as the menu and gadgets.
The minister said his friendship with the younger Boccia, who he met at an event in Naples in May, had turned into a "sentimental relationship", which was broken off between the end of July and the beginning of August.
He added that although he had first considered employing Boccia as an unpaid consultant for the ministry, he then changed his mind as it could potentially be a "conflict of interest".
The minister is seen as politically close to Meloni, although not a member of her party.