Family, friends and international celebrities turned out in force on Friday to bid farewell to the late Italian fashion designer Valentino.

Actresses Anne Hathaway and Liz Hurley as well as long-time Vogue magazine editor-in-chief Anna Wintour gathered at Rome's Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli to attend the funeral service of the stylist and couturier, who died on Monday at the age of 93.

In the early morning, the forecourt of the church in the Italian capital began filling with fans before his casket was carried into the basilica.

Valentino's long-time companion Giancarlo Giammetti, 83, and his last partner Bruce Hoeksema, 68, were also present.

Italian film legend Sophia Loren left a wreath with the inscription "Always in my heart," the newspaper La Repubblica reported.

Valentino – whose full name was Valentino Garavani – was for decades a leading name in world fashion, working his way to prominence from a first apprenticeship in Paris at the age of 19.

He quickly made a name for himself with his elegant style, going on to dress queens, film stars and first ladies, often in his trademark colour known as Valentino red.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Valentino's coffin lay in state at the headquarters of his former fashion house near the Spanish Steps in central Rome.

Thousands of people gathered there to pay their respects. After the funeral service, the coffin was to be buried in a tomb designated as a family chapel in a city cemetery.