A paramedic who rushed Sopranos star James Gandolfini to hospital after he suffered a heart attack has been accused of snatching his Rolex watch.

Claudio Bevilacqua, 43, was accused of taking the actor's £2000 Rolex Submariner watch as he lay fighting for his life, during the first hearing for the case on Monday.

It is unclear whether the watch disappeared from Gandolfini's room in Boscolo Exedra Hotel in Rome, or whether the actor was wearing it when he collapsed in 2013.

Hotel staff noticed that the watch had gone missing, and it was officially reported as stolen on insurance documents.

Bevilacqua did not appear in court on Monday, and the trial has been adjourned until November.