Italian actress Monica Vitti dies aged 90 after long battle with Alzheimer’s disease

Italian actress Monica Vitti has died at the age of 90.

The screen star passed away following a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease, the former Mayor of Rome Walter Veltroni, confirmed via a Twitter post on Wednesday.

Monica – who has been hailed as the ‘Queen of Italian cinema’ – was the versatile movie star of Michelangelo Antonioni’s L’Avventura, who was her lover at that time, as well as other alienation films. 

Sad news: Italian actress Monica Vitti has died at the age of 90 (pictured in September 1995)

Veltroni wrote: ‘Roberto Russo, her companion in these years, asks me to communicate that Monica Vitti is no more. I do so with great grief, affection, and nostalgia.’

The late movie star was also known for appearing other films directed by Antonioni including Red Desert and La Notte.

Monica subsequently switched her focus to starring in comedy movies, and she worked multiple times with director Mario Monicelli.

Dario Franceschini, Italy’s minister of culture, has already hailed her as the queen of Italian cinema.

Starry past: Monica – who has been hailed as the ‘Queen of Italian cinema’ – was the versatile movie star of Michelangelo Antonioni’s L’Avventura (pictured in 1966)

Veltroni wrote: ‘Roberto Russo, her companion in these years, asks me to communicate that Monica Vitti is no more. I do so with great grief, affection, and nostalgia’

He said: ‘Farewell to Monica Vitti, farewell to the queen of Italian cinema.’

Monica’s first English-language film was Modesty Blaise – a James Bond spy spoof – in 1965.

She also worked with the likes of Etore Scola and Luis Bunuel, and starred alongside a host of big-name actors, including Sir Michael Caine, Terence Stamp and Richard Harris.

Monica also appeared in a number of Italian-language films that were never released overseas.

Big hits: Monica’s first English-language film was Modesty Blaise – a James Bond spy spoof – in 1965 (pictured)

Love life: The film star married her long-term partner Roberto Russo (pictured) in 2000 and made her last public appearance in 2002 (seen together in 1997)

Former flame: While starring in his films Vitti was Antonioni’s lover (pictured in 1967)

She won as many as seven Italian Golden Globes for Best Actress during her career. 

Monica was awarded the Career Golden Globe and five David di Donatello Awards for Best Actress, as well as the Venice Film Festival Career Golden Lion Award in 1995.

The film star married her long-term partner Roberto Russo in 2000 and made her last public appearance in 2002, when she attended the the  French premiere of the stage musical Notre-Dame de Paris.

 In 2011, it was revealed that she’d been battling Alzheimer’s disease for many years. 

Star-studded: She also worked with the likes of Etore Scola and Luis Bunuel, and starred alongside a host of big-name actors, including Sir Michael Caine, Terence Stamp and Richard Harris (pictured with Richard Gere in 1979)