Italian cinema 'anti-diva' Lea Massari dies aged 91

Considered an "anti-diva" of cinema, Italian actress Lea Massari, protagonist of the iconic film "La Aventura" (1960), by director Michelangelo Antonioni, died at the age of 91.

The information was released by the newspaper "Il Messaggero" this Wednesday (25) and later confirmed by the Secretary of Culture, Lucia Borgonzoni, who paid tribute to "an actress of irresistible magnetism and dazzling talent".

Massari passed away last Monday (23) at her home in the upscale Parioli neighborhood in Rome, where she was being assisted for some time after a fall.

According to the Italian newspaper, the actress's funeral was held in a strictly private manner at the cathedral of Sutri, near Viterbo. Her body was buried in the municipal cemetery, where the family has a tomb.

The Italian artist, who was part of the cast of several famous films from the 1960s and 1970s, performed both in her country and in France.

In Italy, Massari worked with the greatest directors, including Sergio Leone ("The Colossus of Rhodes", 1961), Dino Risi ("A Hard Life", 1961), Nanni Loy, Giuseppe Bertolucci and the Taviani brothers.

She achieved success in the early 1960s when she became an icon in Antonioni's masterpiece "La Aventura" alongside Monica Vitti. The film portrays the search for a young woman who disappeared before her wedding.

However, Massari's talent was fully recognized in France: of the 55 directors who directed her, only 29 were Italian.

On stage, she was the first Rosetta in the musical comedy Rugantino by Pietro Garinei and Sandro Giovannini, while on television her unforgettable performances included the Nun of Monza in Alessandro Manzon's classic historical novel The Betrothed (1967) and Anna Karenina (1974), directed by Sandro Bolchi.

The star of Louis Malle's "The Murmur in the Heart" retired to private life for more than 30 years, choosing, at the age of 57, to stay out of the spotlight.