Marina Cicogna has been appointed president of Italia Cinema, Italy's film promotional body.

Cicogna is the granddaughter of Count Volpi, the founder of the Venice Film Festival in 1932. After studying film, theatre and literature in the US, she worked in film production and distribution in Italy, producing several films in the 1960s and 1970s, including Pier Paolo Pasolini's Medea and Vittorio De Sica's Una Breve Vacanza. She also briefly worked for Paramount.

Cicogna replaces Luciana Castellina, who resigned in April for political reasons having been president of Italia Cinema since its launch in 1999.

Earlier this year, Cicogna appeared to be the frontrunner in the race to find a new artistic director for Venice. However, some of her public statements attracted wide criticism and she was knocked out of contention. Ex-Berlinale chief Moritz de Hadeln was subsequently appointed.