Cinema icon to re-enter Italian politics.

Gina Lollobrigida, the veteran Italian actress from Hollywood's golden age, is to run in Italy's general election next month.

The screen legend, who recently turned 95, will be a candidate in Latina, south of Rome, for Italia sovrana e popolare (ISP), a newly-formed Eurosceptic political alliance, reports La Repubblica newspaper.

It is not the first time that Lollobrigida has been involved in politics: in 1999 she ran for election in the European parliament as a candidate for Romano Prodi's centrist Democratici party however she failed to get elected.

Born near Rome in 1927, Lollobrigida gained international fame for films including The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1956), starring alongside Anthony Quinn, and Solomon and Sheba (1959) in which she starred with Yul Brynner.

Italy will hold a general election on 25 September following the resignation of outgoing premier Mario Draghi last month after three coalition parties withdrew their support from his national unity government.

Photo La Repubblica