The 76-year-old songwriter had been due to perform in Bologna on Tuesday evening.

The Duse Theatre wished the rock icon a "speedy recovery" in a statement on Instagram.

The theatre said: "With great regret, we inform the kind audience that the Patti Smith concert scheduled for today will not be able to go on stage due to a sudden illness that struck the artist.

"We are all sorry for the inconvenience caused by this news.

"Our best wishes for a speedy recovery go to the artist."

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There have been Italian media reports Smith was taken to hospital and placed under observation, but these have not been confirmed.

At the end of last week, the artist was pictured arriving at Milan's La Scala opera house for the opening of the gala season.

It is not yet clear whether she will be well enough to perform at her next scheduled gig on Thursday in Venice.

Her most recent performance was on Monday in Siena as part of a string of dates in Italy.

Smith, who has released 17 studio, live and compilation albums, is sometimes known as the "punk poet laureate" and is more widely recognised for her influence on other artists like Madonna, Courtney Love, Michael Stipe and The Smiths, than her chart successes.

Her most widely known song was Because The Night which was co-written with Bruce Springsteen and reached number five on the UK Singles Chart in 1978.