Ricardo Gomes
The Italians do it better!
This was the slogan on Madonna’s T-shirt in her 1986 video “Papa Don’t Preach,” and she stuck to it by traveling to Italy last week to celebrate her 66th birthday.
The Queen of Pop blew out her candles on August 16 at the Villa TreVille resort in Positano, the same place where Jennifer Lopez vacationed this summer.
“Back in Italy…🇮🇹 Happy Birthday to ME 🦁✨🎂🥂🇮🇹♥️,” she wrote on Instagram, uploading 20 glamorous new pictures taken by her personal photographer Ricardo Gomes.
Her 11-year-old twins Stella and Estere and her reportedly new boyfriend, 28-year-old soccer player Akeem Morris, were by her side all week.
People magazine reports all the details of this idyllic place overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea, which can cost a guest up to $2,000 a night.
Madonna didn’t want to kick off the celebrations with a single event, but wanted to party all week long.
She took part in the traditional Italian Ferragosto celebrations on the balcony of La Tagliata – where she was admired by hundreds of spectators – and marveled at the fireworks on the Amalfi Coast.
She also had dinner at the Pompeii Archaeological Park and saw a performance by Dream of Flying, a youth group that puts on adaptations of ancient comedies. What she saw moved her so much that she immediately agreed to fund the program for a full year with $275,000 through her Ray of Light Foundation, according to the AP.
While watching the play, Madonna and 30 guests ate a meal prepared by Quattro Passi chefs Antonio and Fabrizi Mellino, which included Mediterranean-inspired vegetables and seafood (white grouper) and homemade bread.
The meal consisted of mini penne with zucchini and endive.
Madonna’s birthday comes one year after she survived a serious bacterial infection and several months after she concluded her successful Celebration world tour with a historic performance in Brazil.
In honor of her birthday, her longtime manager Guy Oseary posted a photo from the past and teased a possible second leg of the tour, writing: “The 1.6 million viewers at your show in Rio 🇧🇷 were magical. Bravo 👏🏽👏🏽 The celebration tour may be over… for now 😃 … But the birthday party has just begun! Save me a dance 💃 🕺🏻 ❤️💛💚.”
