Margareth Madè, the Italian actress who became a household name as the star of Baarìa, the Golden Globe nominated film, will be the godmother of Costa Favolosa. The naming ceremony for the flagship of Costa Cruises, Italy’s largest tourism group and Europe’s no. 1 cruise company, will take place on 2 July in the magnificent setting of the Piazza Unità d’Italia in Trieste.

The star will cut the ribbon to break the bottle of Aneri Prosecco against the bow of Costa Favolosa, sealing the ship’s naming.

Costa Favolosa, weighing 114,500 gross tonnage and carrying a total of 3,800 guests, will be the largest ship flying the Italian flag and a symbol of Italian pride that will sail the seven seas. The naming event was included in the official celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the Italian Unification.

Margareth Madè is one of Italy’s most elegant Mediterranean beauties and a new icon of the great Italian cinema. With her grace and elegance, this dark haired green-eyed actress reflects the style and values of Costa Favolosa and the naming event.

“Margareth Madè and Costa Cruises share the values that represent Italian style: beauty, refinement and a strong personality. It could only have been this fabulous actress, who rose to the international elite of Italian icons, to become the muse of our flagship and Costa’s unmistakable world-renowned style,” says Pier Luigi Foschi, Chairman and CEO of Costa Crociere S.p.A.

Special guests of the christening event will include the famous pianist Ludovico Einaudi, the voice of Alessandro Rossi (Italian famous voice-over artist) and the Ballet School of the Accademia Teatro alla Scala. The Master of Ceremony at the inaugural event will be the Italian journalist Cristina Parodi. A huge fireworks display over the sea will close the event.

Margareth Tamara Maccarone, on stage Madè, born in the Catania Province and raised in Adrano and Pachino, began her modelling career at the age of 15. After studying acting and diction, she was selected in 2008 by Giuseppe Tornatore to play Mannina in Baarìa, a film that the following year opened the 66th Venice International Film Festival, an event for which Madè was acclaimed as one of its greatest revelations. With its box office success, the movie was the Italian entry for the 2010 Oscar Awards and was also nominated to the Golden Globes.

Margareth just finished shooting the first work by Nikolay Pennestri. This full-length thriller, filmed in English, is divided into 4 episodes and each with a different main character: Kasia Smutniak, Valentina Cervi, Andrea Osvart and Margareth. She will also soon have a role in a comedy una donna per la vita, the first film by Maurizio Casagrande with Maurizio Casagrande, Neri Marcorè and Sabrina Impacciatore.

Costa Favolosa will make her debut with a 3-day mini vernissage cruise, departing from Venice on 4 July, with calls to Dubrovnik (Croatia) and Koper (Slovenia), followed by a grand inaugural cruise departing from Venice on 7 July: 11 days to discover Greece, Turkey and Croatia, with calls to Bari, Smyrna and Istanbul (Turkey), Mykonos, Piraeus and Olympia (Greece) and Dubrovnik (Croatia).

For the entire 2011 summer season Costa Favolosa will sail 7-day cruises from Venice and Bari to Olympia (Greece), Smyrna and Istanbul (Turkey) and Dubrovnik (Croatia). Throughout the winter 2011/12 Costa Favolosa will offer 8-day cruises from Dubai.