The wife of an 81-year-old Italian man whom he serenaded from beneath her hospital window has died. Earlier this month Stefano Bozzini, who was unable to visit his wife, Carla, in hospital due to Covid-19 restrictions, touched the hearts of many after he was filmed playing songs that had defined their love on his accordion in the courtyard of the hospital in Castel San Giovanni, a town in Piacenza province.

Bozzini, a retired member of the Italian army’s Alpini mountain infantry, told the local press that he had lost his “alpine star”. The couple had been married for 47 years. Carla, 74, spent 10 days in the hospital as she underwent tests for cancer and was discharged the day after her husband’s romantic gesture. The hospital does not treat Covid patients but visitors are banned in case they bring the virus in.