Dame Helen Mirren has been made a member of the Order of the Star of Italy, the highest honour the Italian Republic can award to foreign nationals, by President Sergio Mattarella.
    The Oscar-winning British actress has a home in the Salento area of southern Italy and has struck up a strong bond with the community there, and with the nation as a whole.
    Among other things, the 80-year-old artist has campaigned hard to raise awareness of the Xylella Fastidiosa epidemic that is killing ancient olive trees in Puglia.
    "I thank my adopted country," Mirren said in a speech mixing English and Italian as she received the honour at a ceremony at Italy's embassy in London.
    During the speech, she said her "love for Italy" started when she saw Michelangelo Antonioni's L'Avventura at the age of 15 and Monica Vitti's performance in it.

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