Thousands of mourners paid their final respects to famed Italian opera star Luciano Pavarotti, filing past the open coffin of one of the world's finest tenors at a cathedral in his hometown.

People wait in a line to pay their respects to Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti in Modena's cathedral on Friday.
(Andrew Medichini/Associated Press)

The doors of Modena's ancient cathedral reopened at dawn Friday to let admirers walk by the casket where Pavarotti lay dressed in his trademark white tie and tails with a white handkerchief and rosary clutched in his hands.

Crowds applauded as his white casket was carried into the cathedral late Thursday. The public viewing opened shortly after, and by midnight more than 9,000 had filed through the cathedral.

Among the prominent visitors Friday was Italian President Giorgio Napolitano.

Pavarotti's wife, Nicoletta Mantovani, wept beside his casket as mourners passed.

The public will be admitted until Saturday morning, ahead of the funeral scheduled for early afternoon.

"He's a symbol of Modena, a symbol of Italy, he's international," said Simone Sarrau, a 32-year-old who waited in line until nearly midnight, "and there will always only be him."  

Pavarotti died Thursday at the age of 71 in his home in Modena after a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer.

Across Modena, flags are flying at half-mast and signs reading "Addio, Maestro" are plastered in windows in honour of the city's most famous resident.

Luciano Pavarotti died Thursday at the age of 71 in his hometown of Modena, Italy.
(Canadian Press)

"Thanks to Luciano Pavarotti, the name of Modena has gone around the world as the name of a city much bigger than it actually is," Mayor Giorgio Pighi told Associated Press Television News from the piazza.

"The world cries for its most famous Italian as an era ends," said the Corriere della Sera, which like most Italian dailies devoted several pages to a review of Pavarotti's career. 

Local authorities are preparing for the flood of visitors expected for his Saturday funeral, which will be broadcast live on public TV.

Dignitaries from opera, politics and culture have already begun arriving in the town for the Saturday funeral.

Italian premier Romano Prodi was expected to attend the service, and giant TV screens have been erected outside the cathedral in anticipation of huge crowds.

During the service, tenor Andrea Bocelli will sing the hymn Panis Angelicus, which Pavarotti himself performed at the same cathedral in a duet with his father in 1978.

The service will be taken by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

The Italian air force's precision flying team — the Frecce Tricolori, or Tricolored Arrows — will perform a flyover as the casket is brought out of the cathedral.

Pavarotti will be buried in the same cemetery as his parents and stillborn son, Riccardo — the Montale Rangone cemetery, near Modena.