Jesus Of Nazareth - Franco Zeffirelli:Tribute To Romeo & Juliette And Jesus Of Nazareth's Director

Italian film director Franco Zeffirelli famed for directing operas, films and television has died in Rome at the age of 96.

The Academy Award Nominee and recipient of an honorary British knighthood passed away peacefully at noon today in his home, his son Luciano said.

Involved in around 20 films and more than 30 plays and operas, the two-time Oscar nominee is most famed for his 1968 version of Romeo and Juliet alongside other films including Tea with Mussolini (1999) and Jesus of Nazareth (1977).

Announcing the death, Luciano said: 'He had suffered for a while, but he left in a peaceful way.'

The Mayor of Florence, his birthplace, Dario Nardella, paid tribute to the director saying 'I never wanted this day to come'.

'Franco Zeffirelli departed this morning. One of the greatest men in the world of culture', he said on Twitter.

'We join in the grief of his loved ones. Goodbye, dear Master, Florence will never forget you.'

Zeffirelli delighted audiences around the world with his romantic vision and often extravagant productions, most famously captured in his cinematic rendering of Romeo and Juliet.

Showing great flexibility, he produced classics for the world's most famous opera houses, from Milan's venerable La Scala to the Metropolitan in New York, and plays for London and Italian stages.

The illegitimate son of a merchant, he grew up in Florence with his father's cousin, after his mother died of tuberculosis when he was six years old.

His father came to visit him weekly and organised for him to have English lessons three times a week with a British expatriate living in the city.

Initially training as an architect, his studies were then interrupted by the Second World War.

Zeffirelli joined the Italian partisans, twice escaping death by firing squad, before becoming an interpreter for the British army after the allied invasion of Italy.

Returning to architecture, it was Laurence Olivier's 1944 film Henry V that inspired the young Zeffirelli, at the age of 20, to move into theatre.

Gaining a role as assistant director on 1948 movie La Terra Trema, he then worked for several directors before moving into design and trying his hand at directing.

In 1967 his first film, The Taming of the Shrew, was released starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor as its main actors.

The film was well received at the time but it was his second film, Romeo And Juliet, that cemented his reputation.

Its iconic score, by Nino Rota, remained in the public consciousness long after he film's release, with The Love Theme providing the background to former Radio One DJ Simon Bates’ long-running feature Our Tune.

He also continued to direct opera, staging performances such as Tosca which was so successful it ran for 40 years at London's Opera House.

As well as adapting Shakespeare classics, in 1996 he also produced a film on Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre.

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