“Russia is part of my DNA”: Ornella Muti discussed Russian and Italian culture with the participants of the Znanie.Pervye marathon.

The famous Italian actress Ornella Muti spoke to the participants of the educational Znanie.Pervye marathon, which takes place from March 2 to 6 as part of the World Youth Festival in Sirius. The meeting with the movie star took place in the Yamal pavilion of the World Youth City and became a highlight of the thematic track “We stand together with Russia.” Ornella Muti spoke about her emotions from Russian culture, demonstrated her progress in learning the Russian language and answered questions from the audience. And after the meeting, the actress went to see a mural with her portrait, which was created in Sochi by another speaker of the marathon, the Italian painter Jorit. 

Ornella Muti has a special relationship with Russia in her blood, because her grandparents were born in St. Petersburg. At a meeting with participants of the Znanie.Pervye marathon, the famous actress shared her first memories associated with our country and emphasized that her family always spoke with warmth about Russia.

“The first time I came to your country was during the Soviet Union. Since then, I have been here regularly and each time I have experienced great joy from these trips. I have always felt a deep connection with Russia. I could say Russia is part of my DNA. If I have passion and emotionality from my Neapolitan ancestors, then romance and the ability to experience deep emotions are definitely a manifestation of the Russian character,” said the actress.

The Italian guest spoke about her attempts to learn Russian, noting that even a busy work schedule did not stop her from taking lessons and studying independently using a mobile application. During the meeting, the actress repeatedly used Russian words, and the audience greeted these attempts with sincere applause. The Italian guest also talked to the guys about her participation in the Crystal Palace ballet. On the stage of the Moscow Kremlin, the actress appeared in the role of Empress Anna Ioannovna.

“I do a lot of theater plays, but ballet - is an incredible new experience. I am proud that I had the opportunity to appear on the same stage with the greatest Russian ballerinas in the very center of Moscow, in the Kremlin Palace,” stressed Ornella Muti.

Marathon participants lined up to ask the actress their questions. They asked about creative plans, differences between working in theater and cinema, hobbies, the difference between Italians and Russians. A marathon participant Evgeniy asked the star’s opinion why Russians love Italy so much. 

“Because Russian people have a very developed sense of beauty. Russia has an incredibly rich culture, which is probably why you respond so sensitively to beauty. The architecture of Rome, the landscapes of Florence, the lagoons of Venice - how can you not love all this if your soul is tuned to the perception of beauty and harmony? I think that Italians and Russians are very similar in this,” answered Ornella Muti.

Marathon participant Hasan from Turkey asked Ornella Muti a serious question: What is a priority for an actress? 

“My priority has always been, is and will be my family. Even when I actively starred in various projects and traveled a lot around the world, my family remained my main treasure. I think this: when you have children, responsibility for them should come first. I am very glad that my daughters and son are friendly, that they have excellent relationships with each other and with me. Family is what makes me truly happy,” answered Ornella Muti.

The Knowledge Society is a general partner of the educational program of the World Youth Festival, and the educational Znanie.Pervye marathon is one of the main events of this program. The most striking presentations of lecturers can be seen on the 24-hour media channel https://russia.znanierussia.ru/tv/Znanie.TV.

Educational marathon takes place in Sirius from March 2 to 6 and covers six sites of the World Youth City: WYF International Airport, Yamal, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Belgorod, and Moscow pavilions. The tracks of the educational marathon are consonant with the meanings of the Festival: “Responsibility for the fate of the world”, “Multinational unity”, “A world of opportunity for everyone”, “Saving the family for future generations” and “We stand together with Russia”.

The World Youth Festival shall become a platform for communication between young people from Russia and other countries. After the completion of the events on the Sirius Federal Territory, Russian Knowledge Society will continue the educational line of the World Youth Festival from March 10 to 17 within the framework of the regional program WYF 2024, which will cover all federal districts of our country. 

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Overview:

The World Youth Festival takes place to promote international youth cooperation. At the first meeting of the Organizing Committee, it was decided to hold the Festival on the Sirius Federal Territory.

20,000 young leaders in education, science, international cooperation, culture, volunteering, charity, sports, business, media, etc., including 10,000 foreign participants, will take part in the WYF 2024. For the first time in the history of the festival movement, teenagers from 14 to 17 years old had the opportunity to join the event, including 500 from Russia and 500 from abroad. 5 thousand volunteers from all regions of Russia are involved in organizing and conducting the Festival. The organizer of the World Youth Festival is the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh), the operator of the WYF-2024 is the Directorate of the World Youth Festival.

The first federal education marathon was held in May 2021 and became a symbol of the reboot of the Russian Knowledge Society. More than 850 lecturers shared their experience during the marathon.

The Russian Knowledge Society traces its history back to the Soviet public organization founded in 1947 on the initiative of representatives of the Soviet intelligentsia as the All-Union Society for the Dissemination of Political and Scientific Knowledge (since 1963 — the All-Union Knowledge Society, since 1991— the Knowledge of Russia Society). Members of the Society were engaged in popularizing science and lecturing on the achievements of the Soviet economy and industry. In 2016, Knowledge of Russia was transformed into the Russian Knowledge Society. On April 21, 2021 the need to relaunch the Russian Knowledge Society on a modern digital platform was stated