Funeral held for 7 time former Italian PM Andreotti

Italian political leaders paid their final respects on Tuesday to seven-time former prime minister Giulio Andreotti -- a Cold War statesman accused of ties to the mafia who has died at the age of 94. The private funeral at Andreotti's local parish in central Rome was preceded by a lying-in state at his home with family and friends, including leading figures from Andreotti's once-dominant Christian Democratic party. As his coffin was brought into the church, a small group of supporters applauded and one held up a placard reading: "You're great, Giulio". But the funeral was very modest -- in sharp contrast to the sweeping powers he once wielded. A divisive figure steeped in the intrigue of post-war Italy, Andreotti was famous for his dry wit and unscrupulous tactics that allowed him to dominate the political scene during decades of social upheaval for the country.He was first elected to parliament in 1946 and never left, staying on as senator for life even after his last government fell in 1992. Andreotti, who built close ties with the Arab world, the Soviet Union and the United States, was tried six times for mafia association and murder but was either absolved or the charges expired under a statute of limitations. With his hunchback and his outsize thick-frame glasses, Andreotti cut an unusual figure but his apparent physical frailty betrayed formidable power. He was often referred to as "The Untouchable" and one former minister said he was like a lay cardinal because of his close ties with the Vatican. Andreotti was a staunch Catholic who attended daily mass. President Giorgio Napolitano attended Tuesday's lying-in state, as did several elderly former members of the Christian Democrat, which was disbanded in the early 1990s under the weight of a series of massive corruption scandals. Mourning ceremonies did not pass off without controversy however. In Milan, regional assembly member Umberto Ambrosoli walked out when the chamber held a moment of silence in Andreotti's honour. His father, Giorgio Ambrosoli, was a lawyer assassinated by the mafia. Asked about the slaying, Andreotti once said: "He was asking for it."