Lamborghini cancels 60th birthday celebrations.

Lamborghini, the Italian luxury sports car company, has donated €1 million to a relief fund for the Emilia-Romagna region where floods have caused widespread devastation and claimed the lives of at least 15 people.

The money will go to the "Un aiuto per l’Emilia-Romagna" fund organised by civil protection authorities currently engaged in a major relief operation across the region.

The company, which is based in the Bologna area of Emilia-Romagna, has also cancelled events to celebrate its upcoming 60th anniversary as a mark of respect.

“Automobili Lamborghini has always been attentive and sensitive to the territory that hosts it" - said the company's president and CEO Stephan Winkelmann - "Through this concrete gesture we want to express our solidarity and closeness to the communities affected by this environmental emergency.”

The funds from Lamborghini, co-ordinated by local authorities, will help to support communities affected by the disaster and will also finance environmental recovery projects.

The cancelled birthday festivities had been scheduled from 24-28 May and were to have included a tour from Piazza del Popolo in Rome to Piazza Maggiore in Bologna.

We support the people affected by the flooding in Emilia-Romagna with a donation of 1 million Euros to the "Un aiuto per l'Emilia-Romagna" fundraiser. We have also taken the decision to cancel our 60th anniversary celebrations that were to be held from 24 to 28 May.#Lamborghini

— Lamborghini (@Lamborghini) May 23, 2023

Announcing the cancellation of the anniversary celebrations, Winkelmann said: "We could not ignore this tragedy that affects us closely because it directly affects the families of some colleagues and affects the region that our company calls home."

The move by Lamborghini comes after Ferrari - another iconic luxury car maker based in the same region - donated €1 million to the relief fund for Emilia-Romagna.

• Italy to hike museum tickets by €1 to restore flood-damaged heritage

Laura Pausini, the Golden Globe-winning singer from the Ravenna area of Emilia-Romagna, has also offered to help by donating the proceeds from three upcoming concerts to the flood-hit region.

Writing on social media, Pausini said she would divide the concert proceeds between "the towns of Solarolo (where I grew up), Castelbolognese (where my parents live) and Faenza (where I was born and where my sister lives)".

Italian president Sergio Mattarella on Tuesday said that the whole of Italy has shown "great solidarity" with Emilia-Romagna, calling for "a thought for our fellow citizens in difficulty, there are thousands who have had to leave their homes flooded and devastated, with the loss of the memories of a lifetime."

Italian premier Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday unveiled an aid package of more than €2 billion for the flood-hit areas.

Photo: Roberto Lusso / Shutterstock.com