While working for a scene-painter in Florence, he was introduced to Luchino Visconti, who hired him as an assistant director for the film La Terra trema, which was released in 1948. After the war, he re-entered the University of Florence to continue his studies, but when he saw Laurence Olivier's Henry V in 1945, he directed his attention toward theatre instead. After World War II broke out, he fought as a partisan, before he met up with British soldiers of the 1st Battalion Scots Guards and became their interpreter. Zeffirelli graduated from the Accademia di Belle Arti Firenze in 1941 and, following his father's advice, entered the University of Florence to study art and architecture. He was a descendant of one of da Vinci's siblings.

Italian researchers found that Zeffirelli was one of a handful of living people traceably consanguineous with Leonardo da Vinci. When he was six years old, his mother died and he subsequently grew up under the auspices of the English expatriate community and was particularly involved with the so-called Scorpioni, who inspired his semi- autobiographical film Tea with Mussolini (1999). However, it was misspelt in the register and became Zeffirelli. She came up with 'Zeffiretti', which are the 'little breezes' mentioned in Mozart's opera Idomeneo, of which she was quite fond. Since both were married, Alaide was unable to use her surname or Corsi's for her child. He was born after an affair between Florentine Alaide Garosi, a fashion designer, and Ottorino Corsi, a wool and silk dealer from Vinci. Zeffirelli was born Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli in the outskirts of Florence, Tuscany, Italy. He was awarded the Premio Colosseo in 2009 by the city of Rome. His miniseries Jesus of Nazareth (1977) won both national and international acclaim and is still frequently shown at Christmas and Easter in many countries.Ī Grande Ufficiale OMRI of the Italian Republic since 1977, Zeffirelli also received an honorary British knighthood in 2004 when he was created a KBE. Movies he directed included the romantic drama Romeo and Juliet (1968), for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director, and his 1967 version of The Taming of the Shrew with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. He was also a senator from 1994 until 2001 for the Italian centre-right Forza Italia party. Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli KBE Grande Ufficiale OMRI (12 February 1923 – 15 June 2019), commonly known as Franco Zeffirelli ( Italian pronunciation: ), was an Italian director and producer of operas, films and television.

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