Giorgio Armani to be laid to rest in private funeral

RIVALTA, Italy (Reuters) -Family and close friends were set to gather in a private funeral on Monday for Giorgio Armani, the legendary Italian fashion designer who died last week at the age of 91. 

Armani will be laid to rest next to his parents and older brother in a family chapel in Rivalta, a village about 100 km (62 miles) south-east of Milan and near the city where he was born, Piacenza. 

In a mark of respect, Armani stores will close in the afternoon.

"We will say goodbye to him as a family and then move forward as he would have wanted. Everything is ready to remember him with his fashion," his partner Pantaleo Dell'Orco was quoted as saying by Corriere della Sera daily. 

Right up to his death, Armani was working on a retrospective exhibition and a fashion show to celebrate 50 years of being in business, during Milan Fashion Week in late September. His company has to date not announced any changes to the programme.

The designer's death was announced on Thursday, sparking an outpouring of international grief, with tributes flowing in from Hollywood stars, sporting champions, business and political leaders and ordinary people.

Over the weekend, thousands came to pay their respects to the man known as "Re Giorgio" (King Giorgio) as his wooden casket, adorned with white roses, was put on display at Armani's headquarters in Milan. 

"I feel very saddened, because he was a man of great style who, of course, has left an indelible mark... We are definitely losing a great, truly great talent", Milan resident Alessandra Torchio said on Monday.

Armani died after a five-decade career in which he built a business empire spanning haute couture to home furnishing, with his name becoming synonymous with elegant simplicity.

He had no children but worked with a trusted group of family members and long-term confidants who are expected to carry on running the business over which he exercised tight control.

(Reporting by Hanna Rantala in Rivalta, Alvise Armellini in Rome and Elisa Anzolin and Claudia Chieppa in Milan, editing by Sharon Singleton)