ROME (Reuters) –
A collection of Futurist paintings and other works of art owned by Italian air carrier Alitalia has raised 1.2 million euros ($1.77 million) under the hammer, the auction house said on Wednesday.

The Italian national airline had put up the art -- some of which hung inside its planes -- after filing for bankruptcy last year after years of losses due to strikes and inefficiencies.

It was relaunched this year by a group of Italian investors who bought its best bits, while the rest is being liquidated.

Paintings by Futurist artists like Giacomo Balla and Enrico Prampolini formed the bulk of the art sold, while select works by Italian artists like Francesco Lo Savio and Carla Accardi also enjoyed considerable success, the auction house said.

Private talks are being held to sell a large painting by Gino Severini. Some of the pieces fetched prices four times pre-sale estimates.

"But the true surprise was the enthusiasm with which the works of lesser-known artists in the catalog were greeted, whose extraordinary results are surely in part influenced by the public's open desire to buy at least a souvenir of our flagship airline," the Finarte Casa d'Aste auction house said.

Alitalia began flying in 1947 and became a proud symbol of Italy's economic prowess in the post-war period, before falling on hard times.

(Writing by Deepa Babington, editing by Paul Casciato)