The news that the icon actress had agreed to pose for the legendary calendar, known for its almost too 'artistic' portrayal of women, spurred many controversies. Fans instantly got divided into two categories: those who could hardly wait and those who disapproved of her.

At 72, Sophia has a body that most young women would kill for and she is aware that being a sex symbol is something that you're born with and nothing you do can change that. The Italian beauty let it slip that she posed (the photo shoot was finalized this week) naked but, the Calendar's spokesperson jumped and said that her statement is not entirely accurate.

Actually, Loren will appear in a black see-through dress that will leave very little to the viewer's imagination. Her publicist says that, over her long career, she received thousands of offers to show her sinuous body but that she always declined them.

Now, she seems to have accepted because she is very familiar to the Pirelli reputation, a calendar so stylish that only the biggest VIPs are subscripted to it (Prince Andrew being one of them). The 2007 edition will be released in November and a very small number of 30,000 copies distributed to its select readers/viewers.

The 2006 Pirelli stars Jennifer Lopez on its cover and drug-rehabilitated Kate Moss. For this issue, it was decided not to go for pictures of the world's best paid models and other important public figures were chosen instead: Hillary Swank, Naomi Watts, Penelope Cruz and French actress Lou Doillon.