While news of Luciano Pavarotti’s death has swept around the world, we’ve started getting a few details about his last hours — and the funeral plans:

Hailed by many as the greatest tenor of his generation, Pavarotti passed away during the night at his villa near the northern city of Modena after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

“His condition progressively worsened up to this morning,” said Antonio Frassoldati, one of the star’s team of doctors. “He was always totally conscious of the situation, he always sought to fight the disease … and he was very calm.”

The funeral will be held at Modena Cathedral on Saturday, said the city’s mayor Giorgio Pighi.

The cathedral, pictured on the left, has a rich history, and is considered a superb example of Romanesque architecture:

Work on the Cathedral started in 1099 under the direction of the architect Lanfranco, over the site of the sepulchre of Saint Geminianus, Modena’s patron saint. Two previous churches were constructed on the site since the fifth century, but they had been both destroyed. The Saint’s remains are still exhibited in the cathedral’s crypt.

No word on where the tenor will be buried.