Cinema ‘Anti-Diva’ Lea Massari Dies at 91

Rome: Cinema ‘anti-diva’ Lea Massari, the unforgettable protagonist of Michelangelo Antonioni’s iconic 1960 “incommunicability” film L’avventura, passed away on Monday at the age of 91, as reported by Il Messaggero newspaper on Wednesday. Massari, who also starred in Louis Malle’s Le souffle au coeur, died at her home in Rome’s upscale Parioli district, where she had been receiving assistance after a fall at home.

According to Ansa News Agency, her funeral took place on Tuesday in a strictly private manner at the cathedral of Sutri near Viterbo. Massari was laid to rest in the municipal cemetery, where her family owns a chapel.

In Italy, Massari collaborated with some of the greatest directors, including Sergio Leone, Dino Risi, Nanni Loy, Giuseppe Bertolucci, and the Taviani brothers. However, she was most celebrated as the icon of Antonioni’s masterpiece, L’avventura. Despite her significant contributions to Italian cinema, it was France that fully recognized her talent, with only twenty-nine of the fifty-five directors she worked with being Italian.

Massari’s impact extended to theater, where she was the first Rosetta in Garinei and Giovannini’s classic Rugantino. On television, her memorable performances included the Nun of Monza from Alessandro Manzoni’s historic novel The Betrothed (1967) and Anna Karenina (1974), directed by Sandro Bolchi. After a successful career, she retired from public life over thirty years ago, choosing at the age of 57 to step away from the spotlight.