A German national, Eike Schmidt, has made it to the run-off in the mayoral election in the Italian city of Florence.
As the candidate of a right-wing citizens' list, the 56-year-old former director of the Uffizi Museum in Florence came second in the first round of voting.
Schmidt, who also has Italian citizenship, received 32.5% of the vote according to a projection by national public broadcaster Rai on Monday.
He will now face the Social Democrat Sara Funaro, who got 41.6% of the first round vote, on June 23 and 24.
Florence, with a population of 360,000, traditionally votes more to the left, so Funaro is considered the favourite, while Schmidt is regarded as more of a long-shot. The social democratic incumbent Dario Nardella was not allowed to run again after two terms in office.
Schmidt's candidature is supported by the right-wing three-party coalition under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who is in government in Rome. Her party Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy) has its origins in the post-fascist movement.
Schmidt was director of the Uffizi Gallery, one of the most important museums in the world, for eight years. He has been director of the Capodimonte Museum in Naples since January, from which he is currently on leave.