Dario Nardella (born 20 November 1975) is an Italian politician who was the Mayor of Florence from 26 May 2014 to 26 June 2024[1] and the first Metropolitan Mayor of Florence.[2] He is the first mayor of Florence who has been elected twice in the first term. He was also a deputy for the Democratic Party in the 17th legislature until his election as mayor.
On 1 February 2020, Nardella encouraged Italians to "hug a Chinese" to combat what he described as "psychological terrorism" in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.[4][5]
Nardella was the president of Eurocities from 2020 to 2023.
Term-limited in 2024, Nardella ran for European Parliament on the Democratic Party list in Central Italy constituency.[6][7] He received 118 784 preference votes and was elected.[8]