Stanley Tucci was yesterday awarded the decoration of Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (OMRI), presented by the Italian ambassador to the United Kingdom, Pasquale Terracciano, on behalf of the Italian president.
The well-known actor, who was born in the United States to Italian-American parents of Calabrian origin, has received two Academy Awards as well as two Emmy Awards for roles in film and television. He has also directed five films since 1996.
Tucci has always been proud of his Calabrian origins and has maintained close links with Calabria and with Italian culture in general. In 1972 he and his parents spent a year in Florence, where he attended Gaetano Pieraccioni middle school and learned Italian. In 2012 he published a book of Italian recipes handed down to him by his family. The timballo, a traditional Calabrian dish, has a central role in the film “Big Night”, which he directed and starred in.
Tucci is an active member of the Italian community in London and has been a speaker at a number of institutional events.
