Crowds have been queueing to pay their respects to Luciano Pavarotti in Modena Cathedral today.
The doors of the cathedral were opened at dawn to admit the crowds that had already gathered.
Pavarotti, perhaps the finest tenor of his generation, and a singer who did more than any other to bring opera to the masses, died after a long fight with pancreatic cancer.
His most notable colleagues, Placido Domingo and José Carreras who formed the Three Tenors with him in 1990, led tributes yesterday following the 71-year-old's death.
Andrea Bocelli will sing in the funeral service, scheduled for 3pm tomorrow (2pm Irish time), and other celebrities have offered to give the maestro a musical send-off.
The atmosphere was sombre at Modena cathedral this morning as mourners of all ages passed slowly by the coffin, some stopping to kneel in the pews and pray, others signing memorial books outside.
The renowned Italian tenor's remains were removed to the cathedral in his home town last night. People applauded in the square as the coffin was brought inside to lie in state.
Pavarotti was wearing a dress suit, and holding a trademark handkerchief and rosary beads.
Outside, a black-and-white picture of the singer smiled at the mourners, as if to remind them of his bonhomie and legendary fondness for the good things in life.
For a biography of Luciano Pavarotti, click here.
