Thousands pay their last respects to Giorgio Armani, private funeral on Monday

More than 15 thousand people arrived from all over Italy in Milan to pay their last respects to Giorgio Armani during the weekend.

The funeral chamber for the designer who died at the age of 91 on Thursday was set up at the Armani Theatre, the venue for the Prêt-à-porter shows of the fashion house founded fifty years ago.

On Saturday, more than six thousand people entered the theatre set up with candles and white roses, including the mayor of Milan and fashion designer Donatella Versace. On Sunday, the queue to enter the chamber began at seven in the morning.

Also arriving for Armani's final farewell were fashion designers Luisa Lusardi of Max Mara, Santo Versace, Dean and Dan Caten of Dsquared2 and the president of Lombardy, Attilio Fontana, who described the designer as 'a Lombard excellence, a genius and a great entrepreneur'. And then the Minister of University and Research, Anna Maria Bernini and the entrepreneur and Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis. With the EA7 brand, Armani signed the football team's uniforms. Together with the ordinary people, many show business and sports personalities, such as Isabella Ferrari, Afef Jnifen, Cristina Parodi, Federica Pellegrini and Marco Tardelli.

Arriving from all over Italy for the last farewell to Armani

"He always stood out for his elegance, his style and, above all, his simplicity, the sobriety with which he faced every event, with the utmost respect for all those who worked for him, and I think he should be an example for us, for all of us, for Italy, for the future. We should always remember him for his incredible ability to be great in his simplicity," said Milan resident Christian Moncada

For Alfonso Di Gennaro, who arrived from Turin, Armani 'is a great man'. "We have been his customers all our lives. I came especially from Turin to say goodbye to him. I also had the satisfaction of meeting him in person. I had him sign my wife's arm, then I had it tattooed. What could be better? So it's only right to come here and say goodbye to him. He really deserves it. He really deserves it."

Funeral in Rivalta di Gazzola

The funeral will be held on Monday afternoon in a private ceremony in the village of Rivalta di Gazzola, in the province of Piacenza, and he will be buried in the family chapel where his mother Maria, father Ugo, and brother Sergio are already buried.

The village will be completely armoured for the occasion. According to the Ansa agency, Armani was often in Rivalta to visit the family tomb, but also to eat 'tortelli con la coda' at the Locanda del Falco.

Milan will greet 'King Giorgio' again on 28 September on the occasion of the fashion show celebrating the fashion house's 50th anniversary. The event is scheduled to take place at Palazzo Brera.