Actress blames media for break-up

The 79-year-old claims "endless attacks, slander and violence" from the press forced Rigau to end their relationship and their wedding plans.

She told news agency Reuters that she plans to get the law changed.

"If these people know they will be taken off the air and they will have to pay massive fines then I'm sure the vileness will stop," she said.

"It's a disgrace, it can't be allowed to go on," the veteran actress added.

After 22 years of dating, the couple were due to marry in Rome in January.

'Total crisis'

However Spanish magazine Hola reported yesterday that Rigau had ended their relationship because of "constant, unfounded and unlawful" media interference.

Rigau, who she has described as being in "total crisis", is 34 years younger than Lollobrigida. She says she "feels responsible" for his suffering as he was "linked" to her.

News of the intended wedding had featured heavily in the Italian press.

Her screen career, which started in the 1940s, includes Trapeze (1956) and Come September (1961) which won a Golden Globe award.

In the 1980s she appeared in the US television drama Falcon Crest, which gained her a Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actress.

Lollobrigida also worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, such as Humphrey Bogart, Frank Sinatra, and Sean Connery.

She divorced her first husband, Yugoslavian doctor Milko Skofic, in 1971 after 22 years. They had one son together.