The world of cinema was in mourning Saturday after Italian film and opera legend Franco Zeffirelli, feted for his lavish productions, died at home in Rome aged 96.

The Oscar-nominated director of movies and operas "died serenely after a long illness, which had worsened these last months," Italian media said, citing family members.

"I never wanted this day to come. Franco Zeffirelli departed this morning. One of the greatest men in the world of culture. We join in the grief of his loved ones. Goodbye, dear Master, Florence will never forget you," tweeted Dario Nardella, mayor of the Tuscan city where Zeffirelli was born.

A director, screenwriter, and producer, Zeffirelli has about 20 feature films to his name, working with stars including Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Laurence Olivier, Alec Guinness, Faye Dunaway, and Jon Voight.

Zeffirelli was the last of a generation of Italian film giants who came of age after World War II, including Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti and Vittorio De Sica.

Internationally, he is best known for having directed the 1968 film version of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" for which he was nominated for an Academy Award.

Film critic Roger Ebert called his "Romeo and Juliet," starring a 15-year-old Olivia Hussey, "the most exciting film of Shakespeare ever made."

He also borrowed from Shakespeare for adaptations of "Hamlet" in 1992 with Mel Gibson and Glenn Close, and "The Taming of the Shrew" in 1967 with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

Over and above his film work, he directed more than 30 plays and operas. 

Zeffirelli’s opera productions for the stage included singers such as Maria Callas, Placido Domingo, Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Renata Scotto and Jose Carreras.

One of the high points of his opera career was a triumphant production of Verdi’s Aida at Milan’s La Scala in 2006, which won more than 15 minutes of applause on opening night.

However, Zeffirelli’s unconventional ventures into opera were often welcomed more abroad than at home, particularly in the United States, where he had more than a dozen top productions at the New York Metropolitan Opera.

In 1994 Zeffirelli, who directed several productions at London’s Covent Garden, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his “valuable services to British performing arts.”

"Deep emotion over the death of the master Franco Zeffirelli," tweeted Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte after Zeffirelli died in the presence of adopted sons Pippo and Luciano along with a doctor and a priest.

Afflicted by pneumonia for some time, Zeffirelli received the last rites last week, media reports said.

He was, Conte said, "an Italian ambassador of cinema, of art, of beauty. A great film maker, scriptwriter, scenographer. A great man of culture."

Culture Minister Alberto Bonisoli said Zeffirelli was "a genius of our time."

The Zeffirelli Foundation offered a simple and affectionate "Ciao Maestro" on its website home page while leading Italian operas from Milan to Venice also paid tribute.

A date and setting for the funeral has yet to be announced but he will be laid to rest in Florence's Sacred Doors Cemetery at the San Miniato al Monte basilica, one of Italy's most scenic churches.