Locals in his home town of Vergaio, Tuscany, stayed awake during the night to watch the Academy Awards on a huge screen - and went wild as the 46-year-old farmer's son picked up Oscars for best foreign film, best actor and best original dramatic score.

As Benigni celebrated his third Oscar in Los Angeles by walking over the seats of the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion, the town band in Vergaio struck up a tune as corks popped and the crowd danced, kissed and hugged each other.

Already a popular comedian

Benigni starts his walk to collect the best actor Oscar

On Monday, Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema said his Oscars "honour Italian cinema and culture in addition to being a great personal success".

Culture Minister Giovanna Melandri added: "It's a day of great celebration. For Benigni. For all Italian cinema."

Benigni is already one of Italy's most popular comedians, and now he is the first film-maker in half a century - since Lord Olivier and Hamlet - to direct his own Oscar-winning performance.

The film tells the story of an Italian Jewish father during World War II who uses humour to shield his son from the horrors of a concentration camp.

Proud parents

On stage with Sophia Loren

At home, his parents didn't stay up to watch the Oscars live, but they watched a tape on Monday morning.

His father, Luigi Benigni, said: "I almost expected he'd get three statuettes, because sometimes I can see the future. But I didn't have the courage to say so."

On stage, Benigni thanked Luigi and his mother Isolina. "They gave me the greatest gift - poverty - and I want to thank them for all of my life," he said.

Benigni has said he drew inspiration from how Luigi spoke of his own experiences in a German camp.

He also paid tribute to victims of the Holocaust, which included around 7,000 Italian Jews.