POET MERINI TO GET STATE FUNERAL

POET MERINI TO GET STATE FUNERAL

(ANSA) - Milan, November 2 - Italian poet Alda Merini is to get a state funeral in her native Milan, Mayor Letizia Moratti said Monday.

Wednesday's funeral in the Duomo would pay tribute to a writer whose importance was both local and national, the mayor said.

''Alda Merini charted a course through the history and culture of our city, providing important reflections for the rest of the country,'' Moratti said.

Merini, 78, died in Milan Sunday at the age of 78.

Her work, marked by erotic and religious motifs and eccentric characters, was at first little known outside Milanese poetry circles but reached a wider audience in her later years when she emerged from a long period of mental illness.

She was ranked among Italy's finest 20th century poets.

Among her works translated into English are A Rage of Love (1996), Unpaid Ballads (2001) and The Holy Land (2002).