ROME, February 1. /TASS/. Ornella Muti, a renowned Italian actress, told TASS on Tuesday that she would like to become a Russian citizen and considers Russian culture a part of her own.

"I would love to become a Russian citizen because it is part of my culture, associated with my mother. She died this year and it would be a gift for her," the actress said. She pointed out that she is gradually collecting the necessary documents, but it all boils down to red tape in Italy. Muti has been studying Russian for a long time, but is not yet fluent. "I'm learning the language myself on the Babbel app. Gradually, I’ve learned the Cyrillic alphabet and started to understand something, but your [Russian] grammar is complicated, and then when you learn the Cyrillic alphabet, you still get the letters mixed up. I need practice, it would be good to spend a few months in Russia," Muti said.

She recalls that her grandmother was born in St. Petersburg, then she and her husband went to Estonia, where her mother Francesca Romana Rivelli was born during Soviet times. That's the real name of the actress, who was born in Rome. "My mother didn't know Russian very well, but I remember her singing songs to me (in Russian)... There is never enough time for stories. When my mother was alive, we were always running somewhere, always in a hurry. However, now I am looking for a notebook, which my mother kept, where the whole history of the family is told. When she was talking about her memories, they seemed so magical, because Russia is magical," the actress continued.

Muti believes that Italians and Russians are quite close. "I love Russia and adore Russian people, and their feelings are reciprocal, I feel their love. It gives me a lot of emotions and fills me with joy, because for any actor the love of the audience is the prize. The love and appreciation of the audience give an actor strength and inspiration, I want to go forward, experiment, and never give up. It touches me that even if they haven't seen much of me in Russia, the audience remains loyal, and retains its interest. There couldn't be a greater gift", Muti said.

On February 1, Muti will host the opening night of the famous Sanremo Music Festival, which is shown live on state television in Italy, as well as in other countries. At the age of 14, Muti starred with Damiano Damiani in La moglie piu bella (The Most Beautiful Wife, 1970). The actress has an impressive track record of about 100 film and TV roles. She has worked with such directors as Dino Risi, Francesco Rosi, Mario Monichelli and participated in several European projects. The Russian audience remembered her for her duet with Adriano Celentano in Il bisbetico domato (The Taming of the Shrew, 1980) and Innamorato pazzo (Madly in Love, 1981).