Italian writer, poet and film director Mario Soldati in a 1990 picture. Soldati died in his home at Tellaro, on the Ligurian seacoast, Saturday, June 19, 1999, at the age of 93. Although he directed some 30 films from 1931 to 1960, his narrative style of writing in some three dozens works was considered his best talent. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)