ROME (AFP).- Italian neo-realist film director Francesco Rosi died Saturday in Rome, media reports said. He was 92.

Rosi gained international fame with his 1962 film "Salvatore Giuliano" about the Sicilian gangster.

Ten years later "The Mattei Affair" investigating the mysterious death of an Italian oil magnate earned Rosi the Grand Prix at Cannes.

His 1981 film "Three Brothers" was nominated for an Academy award for best foreign language film.

Born November 15, 1922, in Naples, Rosi studied law before going into show business, starting with the stage before going into cinema, apprenticing with director Luchino Visconti.

Rosi's 1963 "Hands Over the City" starring Rod Steiger won the top prize Golden Lion at the Venice film festival.

In 2009 he won a career Golden Bear in Berlin, followed three years later by a career Golden Lion in Venice.

The Italian daily Corriere della Sera said Rosi died in his sleep after suffering a bout of bronchitis.

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