Although his condition initially seemed to be improving well, Fortunato came down with a flu and later caught pneumonia, from which he was unable to recover; he died in a hospital in Perugia on 25 April 1995; the eve of Italy's game against Lithuania in Vilnius; the Italian national team observed a minute of silence in his honour prior to the match, and also dedicated the 1–0 victory to him. His funeral took place on 27 April, in his hometown of Salerno. That season, Lippi's Juventus went on to win their 23rd League title, dedicated to Fortunato, known as "Fortunato's Scudetto". Juventus also won the Coppa Italia, and the Supercoppa Italiana that year, and reached the UEFA Cup Final. In total, Fortunato made 27 league appearances for Juventus, all of which came during the 1993–94 season, scoring one goal for the club, which came in a 3–1 away defeat to Lazio on 12 December 1993, in Serie A.