Thousands of admirers have been waiting since the early hours of this Wednesday for the arrival of the coffin of the charismatic movie star who died on January 16 and who from the beginning, with his beautiful image and his talent, helped with his films to heal the wounds of World War II.
Unsurprisingly to no one, the ceremony, scheduled for 12:30 p.m. local time, started thirty minutes late amid countless displays of respect and affection from those who were celebrating her as Queen of Rome, those from the nearby mountain town of Rome comes from Subiaco, where he was born on July 4, 1927 and where his remains will lie.
Father Walter Insero, parish priest of this basilica also known as the Church of Artists, in his homily in front of the coffin, together with a photo of the actress in her youth and a bouquet of red roses, emphasized the deep humanism of the person who had a very poor origin, and though he attained world fame, he never strayed from the lowliest.
As an example, Insero referred to his relationship with Mother Teresa of Calcutta, whom “he met in confidence and supported her in her work of serving the most needy. Gina never said it, but she built a hospital for the poor in India.”
La Lollo, as many called her, has been a goodwill ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) since 1999 and has also “helped children in Africa and other places,” the pastor said. As he said, “he understood that there is more joy in giving and sharing than in receiving.”
In her career, alongside transcendental roles in famous Italian films such as La Romana and The Most Beautiful Woman in the World, she starred in international blockbusters such as Trapeze alongside Burt Lancaster and The African Treasure with Humphrey Bogart.
She also played Esmeralda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame opposite Anthony Quinn; He starred in Solomon and the Queen of Sheba with Yul Brynner and in When September Comes with Rock Hudson, for which he won a Golden Globe among many other films.
In her final years, Gina Lollobrígida maintained a political commitment that led to her running for a Left Alliance Senate election in September 2022.
She was in poor health after an accident that fractured her femur, which is why she was hospitalized two weeks before these elections, in which she was due to participate as a member of the Sovereign and People’s Italian coalition that brought together the Communist Party, Reconquista Italy, Socialist Homeland, Civil Action and Ancora Italy.
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