Eco, from Alessandria in the northern Italian province of Piedmont, was one of the world's most revered names in literature, having written numerous novels, academic texts, children's books and essays.
But it is still his first novel that Eco is most known and loved for.
The Name of the Rose, published in 1980, is a historical murder mystery set in an Italian monastery in the year 1327.
It went on to inspire a movie starring Christian Slater, a play, a radio drama and a video game.
Nevertheless, Eco once claimed writing novels was not his main focus, saying: "I am a philosopher; I write novels only on the weekends."
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Tributes have poured in from around the globe.
