A large crowd bid farewell to the late Italian film diva Gina Lollobrigida on Thursday.
Her coffin, which has been laid out in a chapel in Rome’s city hall since Wednesday, was taken to the “Church of Artists” in Piazza del Popolo in central Rome, where, according to tradition, the funerals of prominent Italian artists take place. The funeral service for the world-famous actress was celebrated here.
“You were a queen!”
“You were a queen!” exclaimed one of those present as the Hollywood icon’s coffin was carried into the church to applause from those present. Lollobrigida’s only son Andrea Milko Skofic, with whom Lollobrigida was at odds, attended the mourning ceremony. Skofic had sued the actress’s assistant, Andrea Piazzolla, for defrauding an unsound person and systematically expropriating the actress’ property between 2013 and 2018.
A trial is underway once morest Piazzolla, which the diva defended to the end. According to the allegations by the Rome public prosecutor, Lollobrigida’s personal assistant is said to have embezzled several million euros and assets, including the diva’s paintings and heirlooms. Piazzolla remained at the actress’s side to the end. He did not attend the funeral ceremony in Rome to avoid meeting Lollobrigida’s son, he told Italian media.
Meloni pays tribute to Italian film diva
The funeral was attended by 61-year-old Spaniard Javier Rigau Rifols, ex-husband of what was once “the most beautiful woman in the world”. Rigau was accused by the actress of marrying her in Barcelona in 2010 using a fake power of attorney. He had tricked her into signing the documents with fraudulent intent. The wedding, which took place on November 29, 2010 in a Barcelona church in front of eight witnesses, was only officially registered in 2013. Lollobrigida insisted that she was not there and only found out regarding the marriage on the Internet. An unknown took over the part of the bride.
The public prosecutor’s office in Rome had requested an eight-month prison sentence for the Spaniard in a procedure opened in 2015, but he was acquitted. The Vatican annulled the marriage in 2019. Rigau assured that he would not inherit anything. Much of the diva’s fortune has already disappeared, he claims. “I loved Gina very much,” Rigau said before the funeral ceremony began.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni praised Lollobrigida, who was born into humble circumstances in a small village south of Rome and had become a Hollywood star, as a “strong woman”. “Lollobrigida was a strong woman who, as an Italian, became a diva beyond national borders, representing Italy in Hollywood and in the world,” commented Meloni.
Lollobrigida was one of the icons of Hollywood’s golden age. She had her breakthrough in the dream factory in the early 1950s, since then she has been in front of the camera with film greats such as Anthony Quinn, Burt Lancaster, Errol Flynn and Rock Hudson. In the 1970s, Lollobrigida turned away from acting and turned to photojournalism with great success. She also made a name for herself as a sculptor.