(CNN) - Composer and Oscar winner Ennio Morricone died at 91, his lawyer told CNN on Monday.
The Italian composer was famous for scores of European Westerns, known as spaghetti westerns, including "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" and won an Academy Award for the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino's "The Hateful Eight".
He died at dawn Monday in a Rome hospital after falling and breaking his leg, said his lawyer, Giorgio Assumma.
Morricone requested a private funeral, Assumma said.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte tweeted on Monday: “We will always remember, with infinite gratitude, the artistic genius of Master #EnnioMorricone. It made us dream, move, reflect, write memorable notes that will be unforgettable in the history of music and cinema. ”
Ricorderemo semper, with infinite riconoscenza, the artistic genius of the Master #EnnioMorricone. Ci ha fatto sognare, emozionare, riflettere, scrivendo note memorabili che rimarranno indelebili nella storia della musica e del cinema pic.twitter.com/SNGmJjfJ2H
- Giuseppe Conte (@GiuseppeConteIT) July 6, 2020
For her part, the mayor of Rome, Virginia Raggi, tweeted: “Pain for the death of Ennio Morricone, great musician and composer of our time. Its soundtracks have marked the history of cinema, in Italy and around the world, and will continue to move us. Rome was her city and today she mourns the loss of a very dear artist ”.
Pain for the death of Ennio Morricone, great musician and compositor of our time. Le sue colonne sonore hanno segnato la storia del cine, in Italia e nel mondo, e continueranno a emozizajeci. @Roma was la sua città e oggi piange la scomparsa di an artist molto amato.
- Virginia Raggi (@virginiaraggi) July 6, 2020
