To mark the the 40th anniversary of her death, Athens is hosting a fabulous Maria Callas exhibition until 29th October at the Theocharakis Foundation situated on the corner of Vasilissis Sofias and Merlin, close to Syntagma Square. 

Born in New York but proudly Greek, Callas is one of the 20th Century’s true icons, the Audrey Hepburn of the opera world and, in her 1950’s and ’60s heyday, one of the world’s greatest ever sopranos. 

Housed in a classic Greek building, the exhibition brings together many of Maria’s famous dresses, together with iconic photographs of her wearing them at glamorous social events or publicity shoots. 

The collection also includes lots of personal artefacts such as letters, telegrams, furnishings and even the cup from which she drank her last coffee before dieing of cardiac arrest in her Paris apartment aged just 54.

Perhaps the most surprising objects on display were her thick glasses that she hated to be photographed in. She suffered from terrible short-sightedness, meaning the greatest diva of all was almost blind on stage. 

The exhibits are spread over three floors and there is also a delightful airy cafe to recuperate in with coffee & cake. 

Entry costs €6. The exhibition is very well presented and you leave a whole lot wiser about the life, loves, scandals and ultimate demise of one of the most instantly recognisable faces of the last century. 

Pin it alongside the Acropolis as a must see should you be in Athens any time soon.