Italian screen siren Monica Vitti has died at the age of 90.
The actress - who had an award-winning career in film spanning more than thirty years - is said to have passed away following a two decade long battle with Alzheimer's.
Her death has been reported by several news outlets in her native Italy, with tributes having since been issued by fans.
Deadline reports that the news was shared today by writer, director and politician Walter Veltroni on social media - on behalf of Vitti's long-term partner Roberto Russo.
The actress, who began her career in the 1950s, is best known for her roles in film such as as L'Avventura (1960), Red Desert (1964), L’Eclisse (1962) and La Notte (1961).
Vitti, born in Rome in 1931, took part in amateur productions as a teenager and later trained at Rome's National Academy of Dramatic Arts and at Pittman's College.
She is best known for her collaborations with director Michelangelo Antonioni in the 1960s, but later ventured into comedy films, with several directed by Mario Monicelli.
Over the course of her career, she won a host of accolades including several David di Donatello Awards and the Venice Film Festival Career Golden Lion Award.
She also won several Globo d'oro awards - referred to as the Italian Golden Globes - during her acting career.
It's understood that she retired from film acting following the release of Scandalo Segreto in 1989. She had starred in the project but had also written and directed it.
The actress - whose co-stars have included Marcello Mastroianni and Michael Caine is said to have made her last public appearance in 2002 at a premiere for the stage-musical Notre-Dame de Paris.
Her husband, Russo, a photographer and director, told a news outlet in 2018 that his wife was living in their home, assisted by himself and a caregiver.
Tributes have been paid to Vitti following the news of her death, with one fan writing on Twitter that she was "one of the most iconic, talented, extraordinary Italian actresses."
Another commented: "One of the most legendary figures of cinema, with an indelible impact on the silver screen that still lasts to this day."
Whilst one fan by tribute writing: "Supremely talented. Endlessly charming. Fiercely independent. One of the greatest ever. Rest in peace, Queen."
The Lost In Film account on Twitter wrote: "Rest in Peace Monica Vitti, the marvelous Italian actress and cinema icon."
And Italian sports correspondent Tancredi Palmeri wrote: "At first she was main protagonist of existentialism cinematography of Antonioni; then able to be the brilliant comedy star of Italian cinema in 70s."
