Nobel Prize-winning Italian Playwright Dario Fo Dead

ROME, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Oct, 2016 ) : Italian satirical dramatist Dario Fo, who won the Nobel prize for literature in 1997, died on Thursday aged 90, prompting an outpouring of tributes for a provocative playwright unafraid to clash with authority.

The writer and actor succumbed to complications arising from a lung condition he had suffered for several years, his doctor told a news conference. Left-winger Fo, one of the leading figures in 20th century farce and political theatre, was best known for his works "Accidental Death of an Anarchist" and "Can't Pay, Won't Pay".

His anti-conformist stance and commitment to political and social causes involved him in numerous court cases and controversies with the Italian state, police, censors, television and even the Vatican.

"With Dario Fo's death, Italy has lost one of the great characters of its theatre, culture and civilian life," Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said in comments carried by the Agi news agency.

"His satirical work, research, stage work and multi-faceted artistic activity are the legacy of a great Italian to the world." Fo's coffin will lie in state in the foyer of the Piccolo Teatro in Milan on Friday, before being transported Saturday to Piazza Duomo where a lay ceremony will be held in front of the northern city's cathedral.

News of his death triggered a flood of reactions from across Italian society, from politicians to tv presenters to writers. "The most joyous Nobel of all time died today. Instead of a tear, we owe him a smile," the novelist Erri De Luca wrote on Twitter.

Fo was known for his humour, with a smile on his face in all his public appearances. "I'm not afraid of death but I'm not courting it either. If you have lived well, it is the fair conclusion to life," he told the Corriere della Sera recently.