Italian directors pay homage at Rosi memorial service

(ANSA) - Rome, January 12 - Oscar-winning Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore was among the first of many acclaimed Italian filmmakers to arrive at the memorial service and day-long viewing of the body of Italian director Francesco Rosi on Monday.
    Rosi, 92, directed award-winning films tackling corruption in postwar Italy and died at his home in Rome on Saturday.
    Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, Rosi's friend and former classmate, sent white roses to the public viewing held at Rome's Casa del Cinema, where a large screen projected black and white images of the director's films.
    Italian director Giuseppe Piccioni was also among the first to arrive for the service, and said Rosi's work gave Italy "identity and dignity".
    "Rosi was one of those artists who lived his work like a mission," Piccioni said.
    Rosi's film "Hands over the City," about political corruption, took the Golden Lion at Venice in 1963, and "The Mattei Affair", an investigation into the death of prominent Italian businessman Enrico Mattei, won the Golden Palm at Cannes in 1972.