Italy, and Rome, mourns death of Gigi Proietti

Beloved Italian actor and director Gigi Proietti passed away on Monday morning. Born on the same day, November 2, in 1940, he was 80.

Born and raised in Rome, Proietti was also a proud and passionate Roma supporter.

Proietti, whose first passion and enduring aptitude was undoubtedly for the arts, made his name as a stage performer in Italy - before going on to star in films, comedy performances... and even directing too. At one point, he also turned his hand to music, excelling at that too.

Talented in some many spheres of the arts, he weaved his way into the hearts of Italians with his easy charm and undoubted, almost unmatched talent.

Of particular note to Romans, he always spoke proudly of his origins - and, as part of that, his support for the Giallorossi often came out.

"I'm a Roma fan because I'm Roman - the two go together," he said, in an interview in 1977.

"Anyone born in Rome who likes football, whether it's a passing interest or a burning passion, can't help but support Roma. It's in the blood: a Roman has to be Giallorosso."

Of course, his career, especially in the early days, made it hard to follow the team.

"I would be on one side of the Tiber, inside Teatro Tenda, and the Stadio Olimpico was on the other side," he once recalled.

"Between us there was the Duca D'Aosta bridge, which fans would cross in the morning to get to the stadium and come back over at night afterwards.

"At kick-off I would already be at the theatre, but the wind would bring me the sounds from the game: I didn't see the games, but I heard them."

In later years, however, that all changed - Proietti becoming known in television circles for doing anything to avoid missing a game, even sometimes having the television on while he was on set.

In that same interview, Proietti recounted how that love for Roma was first sparked.

"I had a friend, one of those with a certain intellectual curiosity," he said.

"It was a Sunday in February 1970 and he suggested I go with him to the stadium - because Helenio Herrera's Roma were playing Dino Zoff's Napoli that day."

He added: "My friend told me that the Derby del Sole was an extremely interesting social experiment to observe. So I went, more out of curiosity than anything else - to try and understand this psychological phenomenon that made people cheer for a football team.

"Everything was pretty normal up until the end of the game when, with just a few minutes left, Salvori scored and my friend lost his voice, he was cheering so much. And everyone else went mad too.

"Roma won 2-1 as a result - and from that day on I was a Roma fan."

Rest in peace, Gigi.