Callas love letters go on display

The soprano died on 16 September, 1977 after a heart attack

Memorabilia belonging to the late opera legend Maria Callas has gone on show in Milan, ahead of an auction next week.

The collection includes ornaments, gowns, musical scores and photographs of the singer with dignitaries such as ex-US President John F Kennedy.

The items are from the estate of Giovanni Battista Meneghini, to whom Callas was married for 10 years.

Auctioneers Sotheby's say a series of Callas' love letters to Meneghini could fetch up to 70,000 euros (£50,575).

Penned before and after their marriage, the 63 missives unmask the Greek soprano's relationship with the Italian industrialist.

"To leave you would be too big a punishment for me," she wrote in 1947 shortly after meeting him.

The auction includes several evening dresses worn by the star

The couple married in 1949, during which time Meneghni became her manager.

But their union ended in 1959 when Callas left her husband for Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis.

A total of 330 lots will be auctioned by Sotheby's in Milan on 12 December.

Among them are a metronome, a silver bowl given to the singer by President Kennedy and a hooded Yves Saint Laurent evening cape.

Meneghini's diary, in which he recounts his separation from Callas after she and Onassis became lovers following a yacht cruise is also being put up for sale for 1,500 euros (£1082).

Sotheby's said the sale had already attracted a large amount of interest.

"We are getting some fanatic phone calls from people saying: 'Remember this is going to be mine'," said Iris Fabbri from the auction house.

Diamond ring

Callas, who was born in New York, established her career in Italy before returning to the United States.

Regularly acknowledged as the first and original diva, she died 30 years ago, having suffered a heart attack.

The last sale of the star's belongings involved a selection of her jewellery, which was offered in the Swiss city of Geneva in 2004.

The 11 pieces raised for three times their estimated value, having been put up for auction by an unnamed heir who had held on to the items since the soprano's death.

The most expensive lot in the auction, which took place at Sotheby's in Geneva, was an 11.7 carat diamond ring.

Known as La Divina, it fetched $397,500 (£196,000), nearly five times the original estimate set by auctioneers.