‘I Love Greece,’ Monica Bellucci Tells Tourism Minister Kefalogianni

Italian actress Monica Bellucci expressed her love for Greece during a meeting in Thessaloniki on Thursday with Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni.

An official guest of this year’s international film festival in the Greek northern city, Bellucci on Thursday night attended the screening of the film Maria Callas: Letters and Memoirs, at the packed Olympion theater. Directed by Tom Volf and Yannis Dimolitsas, the film features Bellucci in a starring role.

Prior to the film festival, the Italian actress met with the Greek tourism minister. The two women discussed the film about Maria Callas but also the importance of the Thessaloniki Film Festival as a promotional tool for the city’s image and cultural identity.

Bellucci told the minister that she “loves Greece” and that she visits the country often.

Minister Kefalogianni invited the actress to visit Greece again and promised to show her the country’s “hidden beauties”.

Maria Callas: Letters and Memoirs

Photo source: Thessaloniki Film Festival

The film Maria Callas: Letters and Memoirs is an invaluable testament to the international tour of the theatrical production of the same name, starring Monica Bellucci as the great opera diva. Through the chronicle of the tour, spanning from November 2019 to January 2023, two different eras unfold – the current one and the one in which Callas was at her peak. Simultaneously, a dialogue opens between the brilliant contemporary Italian actress and the leading soprano who defined the 20th century.

At the 64th Thessaloniki International Film Festival, Bellucci received the festival’s honorary Golden Alexander Award for her overall contribution to cinema.

“I am extremely touched. Thank you sincerely for this invitation. As you know, I hold Greece very close to my heart,” Monica Bellucci stated on the stage of Olympion before the start of the screening.