According to the Guardian Unlimited, the “cash-strapped” government of Greece is scrambling to raise sufficient funds to purchase over $1 million worth of Maria Callas memorabilia at a Sotheby’s auction on December 12.

The “voluminous” collection to be auctioned includes “a fabulous array of intimate letters, jewels, evening dresses, furniture, paintings, photographs, unseen stage notes and annotated musical scores released by the estate of Callas’s husband, the late Italian industrialist Giovanni Battista Meneghini.” The auction will include a number of items Meneghini purchased at the first estate sale of the diva’s possessions back in 1978.

La Cieca’s favorite part of this story is the name of the Sotheby’s spokesperson: “Esmeralda Benvenuti.“

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