Gina Lollobrigida Funeral: Iconic Actress To Be Laid To Rest In Birthplace Of Subiaco After Ceremony In Rome
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Italian big-screen diva Gina Lollobrigida was due to be laid to rest in her native hilltop town of Subiaco, after a televised funeral ceremony on Thursday at the Church of the Artists in nearby Rome.
The actress’s only son Milko Skofic, grandson Dimitri and Spanish ex-husband Javier Rigau were among those in attendance alongside Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Cultural Under-Secretary Vittorio Sgarbi as well as film and entertainment world figures Mara Venier, Milly Carlucci, Adriano Aragozzini, Daniel McVicar, Giulio Base and Barbara Bouchet.
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The actress’s long-time personal assistant Andrea Piazzolla, who was caught up in a legal battle with Skofic at the time of Lollobrigida’s battle over control of her finances, was also present with his parents.
The burial comes just five days after Lollobrigida’s death on January 16 at the age of 95 years old. Her coffin has been laying in state at the Campidoglio in Rome since then.
Her death has prompted an outpouring of tributes and grief in Italy, with Sophia Loren declaring she was “profoundly shaken and saddened by the news. She was not present at the funeral.
Lollobrigida, who hit the height of her fame in 1950s and 60s, was known affectionately as the “Bersagliera” in Italy, for her breakout role in Luigi Comencini’s 1953 romantic comedy Bread, Love And Dreams, as a determined young woman girl who attracts the unwanted attention of a womanizing retired army captain.
Hundreds of well-wishers flocked to the church overlooking Rome’s Piazza del Popolo to watch as the coffin arrived to military fanfare and applause.
The priest overseeing the mass in Rome talked about how Lollobrigida had met the late Mother Teresa Of Calcutta and financially supported the nun’s work for the poor.
“Meeting Mother Teresa of Calcutta changed her life. She met her several times. With great confidentiality, she met her and supported her works in the service of the poor,” revealed the priest.
“Gina never talked about this, because Jesus teaches this. You’ll forgive me for bringing it up. Gina built a hospital for the poor in India. She helped children in Africa and other places. She also thought about the poor here. She understood that there is more joy in giving and in sharing than in receiving”.
He also talked about Lollobrigida’s “extraordinary life” and how she had been forced to leave Subiaco as a teenager during the Second World War after it was bombed, living in a single room with six members of her family.
He revealed how she had originally held dreams of being a fine artist, a passion she rekindled later on in life.
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