Carlo Ponti

MAGENTA, Italy (AP) - Sophia Loren, flanked by her two sons, led mourners Friday at the funeral of her husband, film producer Carlo Ponti, with about 200 residents standing outside the church in silence during the mass.


Ponti, who died Tuesday at age 94, was buried in the family tomb in this small northern town where he was born. Afterward, the cemetery was opened to the public and dozens of people paid their respects.

Loren waved briefly as she left the San Martino church with her two sons, Edouardo and Carlo Jr., on each side.

Ponti died at a hospital in Geneva, where he had been hospitalized about 10 days earlier because of pulmonary complications. Ponti and Loren had been living in Switzerland for years.

He produced more than 100 films, including "Doctor Zhivago," "The Firemen's Ball" and "The Great Day," which were nominated for Oscars

In 1956, "La Strada," which he co-produced, won the Academy Award for best foreign film, as did "Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow" in 1964.



Carlo Ponti and Sofia Loren arriving for dinner at the White House in 1995.