The former President of Italy, Giorgio Napolitano, who served as head of state from 2006 to 2015, has passed away at the age of 98, ANSA reported.

The health of the former president, member of the Resistance Movement and former leader of the Italian Communist Party, had worsened recently. He was being treat in a clinic in Rome in recent months.

In 2013, Napolitano became the first re-elected president in the history of the Italian Republic.