Rocco Siffredi and Rosa Caracciolo

ITALY – Rocco Siffredi, the celebrated “Italian Stallion” of the adult film industry, has retired from performing. In an official statement, he said Rosa Caracciolo, his wife of 23 years, deserves to have all of him.

For the entire 30 years of his career, “me being an actor was something on my first priority in my life,” he wrote in the statement. “Today I can see my wife, she is the top priority. And that is why I made this decision.

“She deserves to have what she wanted from Day One: to be with only me without sharing with other girls…,” he added. “Something inside of me has changed, and all this is related to my family.”

Siffredi and Caracciolo, a former Miss Hungary, met in 1993 and performed together in 1994’s adult film Tarzan X: The Shame of Jane (Butterfly Motion Pictures). Today, the couple own not only production company Rocco Siffredi Produzioni, but also Rocco’s World Caffe, and Italian eatery in the heart of Budapest. They have two sons.

Despite his aggressive on-camera persona, Siffredi, 50, is considered one of the most romantic leading men in adult entertainment. He began his career in the late 1980s, and since then has performed in and/or directed more than 1,300 films distributed across both adult and mainstream genres.

Siffredi retired from performing once before, in 2004, saying he dreaded the day when he’d have to explain his profession to his two young sons. He continued to direct, but by 2011 realized he missed working in front of the camera.

This time, he said, the retirement is permanent.

“I am sure in the future I will be missing very much to be in the front of the camera, but I am also sure that this challenge, to be just behind of the camera, will give me lots of motivation to make great movies as I always did when I was also an actor,” Siffredi wrote in this week’s statement.

“I would like to make a conclusion by saying a big-big thanks for all of my fans who supported me and to make my career the way I had, wonderful,” he added. “And to all of the actresses, actors, producers and directors who I met during these 30 years, working together, enjoying great moments that made my life.”

Siffredi also thanked John Stagliano, whom he called his friend and mentor.