Fans of the Italian screen legend Gina Lollobrigida shouted “goodbye, Queen of Rome” as they gathered for her funeral in the city while defending her against relatives embroiled in a bitter inheritance feud.
Lollobrigida, one of the most glamorous actors of Hollywood’s golden age, died on Monday at the age of 95.
There was a long applause outside Chiesa degli artisti in Piazza del Popolo on the arrival of Lollobrigida’s coffin, which was accompanied into the church by her estranged son, Milko Skofic, who took a seat in a front-row pew alongside her grandson, Dimitri, and her ex-husband, Francisco Javier Rigau.
“I love her because she was the best actress in the world and there is no equal,” said Francesco San Giovanni, who was holding a sign describing the late actor as “the honour and glory of all Italians” in the large crowd of supporters. “There will never be another Gina Lollobrigida,” he added.
Read more: The Guardian
