Giovanni Testori

By VARIETY STAFF

MILAN, Italy (AP) -- Giovanni Testori, a leading Italian author, art critic and playwright, died Tuesday.

He was 70.

Testori had been hospitalized since September with tumors in his lymph glands.

Testori's sometimes controversial plays included "Maria Brasca" and "Arialda." The latter, directed by Luchino Visconti, was censored in the 1960s because it dealt with prostitution.

Among Testori's best-known books were "Il Ponte della Ghisolfa" (The Bridge of Ghisolfa) and "Il Dio di Roserio" (Roserio's God).