The Italian writer and philosopher Umberto Eco, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose, has died aged 84.

His family says he passed away late on Friday at his home. No further details were given.

The Name of the Rose was made into a film in 1989 starring Scottish actor Sean Connery.

Eco, who also wrote the novel Foucault's Pendulum, continued to publish new works, with Numero Zero released last year.

He also wrote children's books and literary criticism.

Eco once wrote that "books always speak of other books, and every story tells a story that has already been told".

"I am a philosopher," he was quoted as saying. "I write novels only on the weekends."

Eco founded the communications department at the University of San Marino in the 1980s.

He was later professor emeritus and chairman of the Higher School of Humanities of the University of Bologna.

Eco was born in Alessandria, northern Italy, in 1932.

I can't remember a year when so many people I've heard of have died in such a short time.

The Name of the Rose is an excellent book, others of his I've read are very weird. And one day, when my brain wakes up again, I'll get around to reading Foucault's Pendulum.