A private funeral service was held Monday for Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani in a 14th-century church in Rivalta, a medieval hamlet near his native city of Piacenza, family members and local officials said.
Only close friends and family attended the ceremony at the Church of San Martino Vescovo, where the hearse carrying Armani's coffin entered the cluster of medieval buildings amid bystanders waiting along the road. Armani, one of the most recognizable names in international fashion, died Thursday at the age of 91.
More than 15,000 people paid their respects during two days of public viewing in Milan over the weekend, according to authorities who coordinated the services. The funeral itself was kept strictly private, with only family and close friends in attendance. Several dozen residents and travelers gathered along the roadside in Rivalta as the procession passed; one woman was seen throwing a white rose as the hearse moved through the hamlet.
Armani's remains are expected to be interred in the family chapel in Rivalta's small cemetery, where his parents and older brother are buried. Italian media noted that the designer often stopped at a local restaurant in the medieval cluster after visiting the chapel, underscoring his long-standing ties to the area. The Church of San Martino Vescovo stands on the remains of an earlier medieval church, the town's website says.
Born July 11, 1934, in Piacenza on the banks of the Po River, Armani built a decades-long career that made his name synonymous with streamlined, elegant menswear and women’s fashion. He is survived by a younger sister, Rosanna, two nieces and a nephew.
Local officials and relatives described the decision to hold a private funeral as consistent with the family's wishes after the public memorials in Milan. The two days of public viewings in the northern Italian city drew mourners from Italy and abroad, reflecting Armani's global influence in fashion and popular culture.
The service in Rivalta concluded ceremonial arrangements in the region where Armani grew up. Further details about the interment and any additional commemorations were not released by the family or local authorities.
The designer's death prompted tributes from across the fashion industry and beyond, and the private rites in Rivalta marked a return to the small community that played a role in his early life.