Turin, July 31 (LaPresse) – Adriana Asti, one of the most intense and original actresses in the Italian and European scene, died peacefully in her sleep last night in Rome. She was 94. Born in Milan on April 30, 1931, with the real name Adelaide Este, she was considered a unique figure in theatre and auteur cinema. She debuted on stage with giants such as Giorgio Strehler and Luchino Visconti, with whom she had a privileged personal and professional relationship. In film, she worked with cult directors: from Bernardo Bertolucci – with whom she was also romantically involved – in Before the Revolution, to Buñuel (The Phantom of Liberty), Tinto Brass (Caligula), making an ironically “erotic” choice, to Marco Tullio Giordana, who cast her in The Best of Youth as the mother. She also worked with Ronconi, Susan Sontag, Bob Wilson (in Beckett’s Happy Days) and performed Pinter’s Old Times alongside Visconti. Closely tied to Cesare Musatti, and a friend of Franca Valeri – with whom she also acted in the film Tosca’s Kiss – she voiced Girl with a Suitcase, and married Giorgio Ferrara, with whom she shared life and stage (Dance of Death). She was close to Pier Paolo Pasolini, portraying his mother in Abel Ferrara’s film starring Willem Dafoe. A long career marked by numerous accolades: a special David di Donatello in 1974, three Nastro d’Argento awards for A Brief Vacation (1974), L'eredità Ferramenti (1977), The Best of Youth (2004), and finally a special Nastro d’Argento in 2015. With her passing, Italian cinema and theatre lose one of their most free and profound voices.

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