ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s President Giorgio Napolitano gave unprecedented testimony on Tuesday in a major trial that accuses the state of holding secret talks with the Sicilian Mafia in the 1990s.

Palermo prosecutors seeking to shed light on a murky period when the mob targeted the state with assassinations and bombings questioned a sitting head of state in a mafia trial for the first time in the country’s history.

Among the 10 defendants are Nicola Mancino, who was interior minister at the time, and Salvatore Riina, once Italy’s most powerful mob boss.

The 89-year-old Napolitano is not accused of any crime and was called as a witness who may have knowledge useful to the trial, but the hearing may tarnish the image of a president who has done much to guide Italy through political and economic turmoil in recent years.

Most Italian presidents have been little more than ribbon-cutters and…