Yesterday at Rome’s Church of the Artists, the whole world of Italian entertainment, together with a packed crowd gathered in Piazza del Popolo, gave the last greeting to Maurizio Costanzo, a central figure in the history of Italian television who died on Friday, February 24. The television programming of RAI and Mediaset has been changed for the occasion to follow the funerals live. A maxi-screen was also set up in Piazza del Popolo to allow the many people who arrived to participate in the function. The applause in Piazza del Popolo welcomed the coffin, followed by the family and much of the entertainment world. “You didn't have three children, but many more. You've always had the soul of a kid and you were amazed every time someone proposed you to write an article. Now you will host a talk show, together with Bracardi, Vittorio Gassman and all the other greats of the Italian show,” said the firstborn Camilla. Before the end of the Mass, Gerry Scotti (DJ at first and now presenter, very close to Costanzo) read the Prayer for Artists with his voice broken by tears: “It's up to me, without merit”. The coffin then left the Church with a long applause and, in the background, the theme song of his Maurizio Costanzo Show, to begin a long procession that took him first to the Teatro Parioli, from where his show was broadcast, and then to the Verano Cemetery. (Photo by Foto deposito)