Sergio Mattarella is stepping down on February 3 after completing a seven-year term as Italy's president, a largely ceremonial post except in times of political crisis, when he plays a crucial arbitrating role. Mattarella served a tumultuous seven-year term where he has sought to be a unifying figure through five different governments and the devastation of coronavirus. The 80-year-old Sicilian was a little-known constitutional court judge when he was elected head of state by parliament in 2015. SHORT PROFILE OF Sergio Mattarella