Florence official: Kardashian-West to wed May 24

Kanye West and fiance Kim Kardashian

ROME  — Kim Kardashian and Kanye West will get married at Florence’s imposing 16th century Belvedere Fort on May 24, a spokeswoman at the Florence mayor’s office said today.

The couple rented the fort, located next to Florence’s famed Boboli Gardens, for 300,000 euros ($410,000). Di Lupo said a Protestant minister will preside, spokeswoman Elisa Di Lupo said.

The 36-year-old rapper proposed to the reality star on her 33rd birthday in October 2013 renting out San Francisco’s AT&T Park for the occasion.

This is the first marriage for West, who was previously engaged to designer Alexis Phifer. It’s the third trip down the aisle for Kardashian. She was wed to music producer Damon Thomas from 2000 to 2003, and spent 72 days married to professional basketball player Kris Humphries in 2011 after tying the knot in in a lavish ceremony that was broadcast as a two-part TV special.

There has been no explicit confirmation from either Kardashian or West. In an email Thursday to The Associated Press, Kardashian’s representative Ina Treciokas said she wasn’t able to comment on reports about the nuptials.

But in an interview with Florence’s La Nazione newspaper today, West extolled the beauty of Florence and said he was “very excited” about the May 24 nuptials.

He said he and Kardashian had come to Florence last year, incognito, and believed that their daughter, North, born in June 2013, was conceived “among the Renaissance masterpieces.”

“It was our first honeymoon,” he said of that visit. “It’s one of the most beautiful cities of the world, for me the most beautiful in Europe.”

The couple was featured on the cover of Vogue magazine’s April issue, with Kardashian wearing a wedding-style dress.

The couple had reportedly been planning a wedding ceremony May 24 in France.

Di Lupo said the proceeds from the rental would go to fund restoration of many of Florence’s artistic treasures.