Some 2,700 years ago, the people of Corinth fled to the Italian peninsula founding Syracuse, a city which was about to become a major naval power and what Cicero described as "the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of them all."

Among its many ancient monuments, the city boasts of  "the Greek Theatre," [PHOTO] an edifice whose caveat is one of the largest ever built by the ancient Greeks.

The enticing local theatre tradition survived through the years and just one hundred years ago, a count named Tomaso Gargalo dedicated his life to reviving the Syracuse ancient drama legacy, founding the Syracuse National Ancient Drama Institute (INDA).

Despite the vicinity with Italy, modern Greek attempts to honour the Greek ancient drama rarely coincided with a Greek-Italian synergy.

This year however, a Greek actress very much admired in Italy, Irene Papas, [PHOTO] invites INDA for performances in Greece.

"Being Corinthian, I feel like a mother who invites her children home," says Pappas adding that "she was impressed and moved by the Italians’ passion for ancient Greek drama and admired their meticulousness, as well as their desire to promote Greece in the world." Today is the last performance of Hippolytus by INDA, in Italian.

Secretariat General for Information: Irene Papas to receive Venice theatre award