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Rome bid farewell to Valentino Garavani on Friday morning, when hundreds of mourners gathered for his funeral at the Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, the vast Renaissance church built within the ancient Baths of Diocletian and adapted in the 16th century by Michelangelo. Long associated with major civic and religious ceremonies, the basilica offered a setting that reflected the stature Valentino held in Italy, not only as a couturier but as a cultural figure whose name became synonymous with elegance and beauty.
Garavani died at home in Rome at the age of 93 on January 19. In the days following his death, the city marked his passing with a two-day public viewing at PM23, the headquarters of the foundation Garavani founded with his business partner and lifelong companion Giancarlo Giammetti. The location is minutes away from the historic Spanish Steps, and the Via Condotti address where the designer first established his couture house in 1959.
If there was a single idea that shaped both the clothes and the man, it was beauty. From the symbolic power of Valentino red to the precision of his couture ateliers, his work offered elegance that was designed to endure. “I love beauty — it’s not my fault,” he once said. For Valentino, that pursuit was not trend-driven, but a lifelong commitment that shaped both what he designed and the glamorous lifestyle he lived after retiring in 2008.
Despite the forecasts of rain, Friday morning opened with clear blue skies, the sunlight filtering across the basilica’s monumental stone interior, washed in warm tones and framed by gilded arches and frescoes. At 11am CET, the ceremony began with Mozart’s Lacrimosa from the Requiem, as the coffin was carried down the central aisle, flanked by friends and family and led by Giammetti and Valentino’s longtime partner Bruce Hoeksema, who served for many years as an executive at the brand. The moment set a solemn but reverent tone, equally grand and intimate.
The service moved between prayer and music, including a traditional Ave Maria, before concluding with rites that saw mourners approach the coffin, which was draped in white lace, to pay their final respects. Hoeksema told the congregation, “Today I do not say goodbye. I say thank you.”
Along with Garavani’s extended family and longtime collaborators, among those in attendance were Valentino creative director Alessandro Michele and former Valentino creative directors Pierpaolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri; fashion media figures including Anna Wintour, Hamish Bowles and Suzy Menkes; designers including Donatella Versace, Brunello Cucinelli and Tom Ford; industry executives Antoine Arnault and François-Henri Pinault; and actress and Valentino muse Anne Hathaway.
On January 28, Valentino will present its Spring/Summer 2026 couture collection in Paris under Michele. In March, Valentino is set to return to Rome for the Fall 2026 ready-to-wear show, a rare homecoming that underscores the city’s enduring place in the brand’s identity. And as the house continues to interpret his legacy on the runway, the ceremony today in Rome marked a farewell for those who knew and worked with him.
