Today, the Italian media ran special sections about Pavarotti and his life. The newspaper La Repubblica ran with the headline "The World Weeps for Pavarotti."

Italian media have been reporting Pavarotti's death in great detail and there have been special programmes on television. The funeral is due to be broadcast live in Italy.

Meanwhile, Pavarotti was laid out in Modena’s cathedral wearing a black dinner jacket in a white coffin. In his hands the "tenorissimo" was holding a white handkerchief, as he did at most of his concerts, and a rosary.

Some 9,000 people had already come to the cathedral late Thursday to pay their last respects to the world’s greatest tenor.

Among the first mourners were his widow Nicoletta Mantovani and his three children from his first marriage.

The doors of the cathedral were reopened at 7 am Friday morning. Silences were held in the great opera houses of the world where Pavarotti had taken to the stage during his 45-year career.

Pavarotti's funeral has been scheduled for Saturday with musicians from around the world expected to attend, including Ireland's Bono, lead singer of the band U2.
Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli was expected to sing the famous religious aria Panis Angelicus at the funeral service, while the Frecce Tricolori (Tricolour Arrows) from the Italian Air Force put on an aerobatic display.

Also today Britain's Prince Charles Friday paid tribute to Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti, saying the world will seem "an emptier place" without him.

Prince Charles said he was "profoundly grateful to have lived during a period when such a prodigious talent inhabited this Earth."

"The world will seem an emptier place without him, and without his generosity of spirit, and our hearts go out to the Italian people at such a sad time.", he added.

The Italian star tenor Luciano Pavarotti passed away at his home in Modena, Italy. He was 71. On October 12, he would have turned 72.

His passing away perturbed probably everyone that has heard him at least once, whatever their status or position. Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Union Commission expressed his sadness in a statement on Thursday: “This is a sad day for European opera culture. Today we are without Luciano Pavarotti, one of the most famous and loved modern tenors, not only because of his exceptional talent, but also because he was sympathetic and had a very strong social commitment. Pavarotti spread the banner of European music across the world... (and) contributed to spread opera culture to an ever-increasing public worldwide. His passing deprives the world of opera and European culture of one of its most loved and respected performers,” he said.

Associated to the fame of Maria Callas gained in terms of the high selling classical singer , Pavarotti earned the nickname “Pavarotti Ltd” from critics. He sold more than 100 million records, video tapes and CDs and was the pioneer of classical artists to gain pop music success, with his collaborations with the Spice Girls, Stevie Wonder or B B King.

The biggest classical music seller in history, with 11 million records and CDs sold was reached by Pavarotti in the live recording of his performance with Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras, The Three Tenors at the 1990 World Cup in Italy.

Forbes magazine ranked him as the 28th highest paid entertainers with total earnings of about $25 million, with a personal fortune of almost $250 million.

Elton John did not forget about his the duet Live Like Horses with Pavarotti in 1996 and about his friend that sadly disappeared: “It's a sad day for music and a sad day for the world.”

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown commented after his death: “He has been heard by millions of people - it's a terrible loss and not just to the music community. He was a great character and well loved throughout the world," Brown said.

On Thursday guards band at Buckingham Palace played a tribute rendition of Nessun Dorma during the Changing the Guard ceremony, applauded by the tourists there.

The French President Nicolas Sarkozy talked about Pavarotti as “the best-known classical singer in the world”, adding : “His artistic qualities as well as his warmth and his charisma seduced the entire world.”

On hearing that Pavarotti’s condition was getting worse, Italy's Ministry of Culture announced Pavarotti was to receive the Premio per l'Esccellenza nella Cultura Italiana (Prize for outstanding achievements in Italian culture).

A UNESCO world heritage venue, the Modena cathedral will shelter the funeral service. Modena's mayor Giorgio Pighi said “A great artist has left us, a good man. Luciano Pavarotti brought glamour to Modena”, announcing also that the Modena theatre will be named after the artist.

Placido Domingo also honored the famous tenor: “I also loved his wonderful sense of humour and on several occasions of our concerts with Jose Carreras - the so-called Three Tenors concerts - we had trouble remembering that we were giving a concert before a paying audience, because we had so much fun between ourselves.” He expressed his admiration of “the God-given glory of his voice - that unmistakable special timbre from the bottom up to the very top of the tenor range.”

Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballe talked about this “wonderful man”: “Pavarotti was a maestro who taught us solidarity with each other," the diva said. "He needed no show to shine. Above all he wanted to do a good job. And indeed he carried out his work better than everyone else.”

American President George W. Bush and his wife Laura, expressed their regrets: “Laura and I join Luciano Pavarotti's fans across the world in mourning his loss," they said in a statement, describing him as “one of the most accomplished and acclaimed opera singers of all time”, mentioning his humanitarian works he accomplished by using “magnificent talent to rally tremendous levels of support for victims of tragedies around the globe”.

The White House couple added:” His international vocal competition in Philadelphia and his school in Modena (Italy) have encouraged and inspired generations of young artists to pursue their dreams.”

"Luciano's voice was so extraordinarily beautiful and his delivery so natural and direct that his singing spoke right to the hearts of listeners, whether they knew anything about opera or not. I will never forget the sheer magic of that voice, but I will also remember the warm, generous and exuberant spirit of the man. He is, rightfully, a legend already — an artist whose recordings will be a reference for singers and opera lovers for a long time to come." said Metropolitan Opera music director James Levine, who collaborated with Pavarotti in 139 performances at the Met beginning in 1973.

The United Nations also paid tribute to the unforgettable artist, declaring him UN Messenger of Peace, and praising his work, “a profound contribution not only to music and the arts, but also to people in need around the world,” as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said. “His work for children - particularly those affected by armed conflict - stretched from Afghanistan to Liberia and beyond.”

Pavarotti held concerts in in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Angola and Zambia, helping the Un refugee programme to earn more than $7million.

Walter Irvine, the UNHCR representative for Italy expressed his sadness caused by the tenor’s death: “UNHCR extends its condolences to Luciano Pavarotti's wife, Nicoletta Mantovani, and to his family. He was fondly remembered by the many UNHCR staff around the world who had the pleasure of working with him."