Actress Maria Rosaria Omaggio has died at the age of 67. Born in Naples but living in Rome for years, she had been ill for some time. In her career she starred in dozens of films, plays, TV series, wrote books, directed plays and operas. For her performance as Oriana Fallaci in the film Walesa, Man of Hope by Polish director Andrzej Wajda, she received the Pasinetti Award at the Venice Film Festival.
“Dear Maria Rosaria. You left us. You began your new journey towards the spirituality you loved so much. You were an affectionate, enlightening, present friend. Beautiful and cultured woman. You will also be greatly missed by my little dogs, to whom you used to say, give a kiss from Aunt Marò RIP”, we read on the actress’s Instagram profile.
In 1976 he made his film debut with Roma a mano armata and Squadra antiscippo, alongside Maurizio Merli and Tomas Milian. His films include Culo e camicia by Pasquale Festa Campanile; Giocare d’azzardo by Cinzia TH Torrini; Le avventure dell’incredibile Ercole by Luigi Cozzi; It was a dark and stormy night… by Alessandro Benvenuti; Guido who challenged the Red Brigades by Giuseppe Ferrara; Guardando le stelle by Stefano Calvagna; L’ave maria by Ninì Grassia.
On TV she has participated in numerous variety shows and fiction, from Canzonissima to Caro maestro 2, Donne di mafia, La squadra; Don Matteo 5. Maria Rosaria Omaggio has given voice to Oriana Fallaci on the radio and in the audiobooks «La rabbia e l’orgoglio», «Se nascerai donna” and «Pasolini, un uomo scomodo».
In the theater, she created and performed “Le parole di Oriana in concerto”, a show broadcast on Rai5 and RaiPlay and also on stage in New York at the end of January 2020. The Rai1 film “Sabato, Domenica e lunedì”, from the comedy by De Filippo, directed by Edoardo De Angelis with Sergio Castellitto, in which she plays aunt Memè, won the 2022 Nastro d’argento as best TV movie. Among her latest shows, “Casa Pianeta Terra”: a journey through words, images and music from the West and the East, to communicate that Planet Earth is our home and above all that we are an integral part of it. In May 2023, in the auditorium of the Ara Pacis in Rome, on the occasion of the Night of the Museums, she brought back to the stage with the singer Grazia Di Michele “chiamalavita” from works and songs by Italo Calvino, dedicated to child victims of war and to the hundredth anniversary of the birth of the great writer. A great athlete, she practiced Tai Ji fist, sword and fan since 1988 and was a federal instructor at CSI- Centro Sportivo Italiano. For her social commitment, in 2005 she was nominated Goodwill Ambassador Unicef.