意大利著名影星索菲娅·罗兰9月20日迎来了自己的70岁寿辰，她选择在罗马家中与亲友“平静”地庆祝生日。媒体和成千上万的影迷们也没有忘记这位“影坛常青树”，纷纷通过各种形式为她献上祝福。

Italians got a break from a steady stream of bad news about terrorism and taxes, to be reminded that screen siren Sophia Loren had turned 70. That's right, 70!

The diva who started life as an illegitimate child in southern Italy went on to win an Oscar and became a living legend and a symbol of post-war Italy. She is believed to be celebrating the birthday quietly with her family.

But Italians will get to see her acting talents on Monday night with the screening of a made-for-television film about an immigrant family set in Umbria and Canada. Corriere della Sera newspaper put the birthday on its front page, as if to remind Italians that some of the Dolce Vita, or sweet life, was left in a world dominated by bad news.

Italy's largest mainstream newspaper said it all: "Happy Birthday, Sophia - legend for a generation." In fact, for Italians, Loren's birthday is not just an ordinary anniversary or commemoration but a bittersweet reminder that the post-war boom times she epitomised at the height of her fame no longer exist.

The fact that Corriere used only her first name was not casual. She is the only woman in Italy who is universally known by her first name. When someone says Sophia on television, it can only mean "La Loren." Loren has outlived many of her film contemporaries from the days when Rome was known as the Hollywood on the Tiber because it was a major production centre and magnet for the jet set