Both were very great tenors, perhaps the equals of the great tenors of the first half of the 20th century, but very different voices.
No argument there. They just said on Fox that Pavarotti will lie in state in Italy, and the funeral service will be on Saturday, I believe.
BTW, do you have the CD's which match modern accompaniment with scrubbed versions of Caruso singing? Fascinating. I also have a couple of CDs with Caruso 'as is' - well, he and Luciano can compare notes :-) in the celestial choir now!