'Death is nothing' widow says at funeral

(ANSA) - Brescia, September 2 - The widow of one of the four Air Force pilots killed in a mid-air crash last month moved many to tears on Tuesday with her reading from a poem at their funeral service on a northern Italian military base.
    "Death is nothing," read the wife of Paolo Piero Franzese, one of the four killed in the August 19 disaster when two Tornado fighters crashed in the air above a forested area of the Marche region. Mariangela Valentini, Alessandro Dotto, and Giuseppe Palminteri were also killed in the crash during a routine military exercise.
    "I'm still me and you're still you...dry your tears and do not cry if you love me: your smile is my peace," the widow read from St. Augustine during the funeral service at the Ghedi Air Base, about 80 kilometres from Milan.
    About 2,000 people, including Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti, attended the service held inside a hangar at the air base, where the altar for the Mass was placed between two parked Tornado fighters.
    "You shine like stars," said Mons. Santo Marciano during the funeral service, where he praised the pilots' "passion" for flight and service to their country.