site.btaIn Monza, President Iotova Honours Bulgarian Hero Vasil Levski

President Iliana Iotova said the Bulgarian revolutionary Vasil Levski (1837-1873) is "our paragon of the strength of inner freedom" as she paid tribute to his bas-relief in Monza. The city is home to the second-largest Bulgarian community in Italy, the Bulgarian President's press secretariat said.

The bas-relief was created by Boris Borisov and donated by the Municipality of Karlovo, Levski's native town, in 2025. It is the first monument to the Bulgarian revolutionary in Italy.

President Iotova was received by Monza Mayor Paolo Pilotto. She told him that for the Bulgarian people, Levski is a symbol of duty, dignity, integrity, equality, and intolerance of injustice. Pilotto said he was deeply impressed by Levski's image and his enduring values.

The President added that monuments to Levski in Bulgaria and abroad deeply resonate with anyone who carries his spirit within them. Iotova also said that Bulgarian and Italian national heroes shared the ability to look forward in time, bequeathing to future generations ideas of equality and solidarity.

Iotova is in Milan at the invitation of International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry for the official opening ceremony of the Olympics. "Bulgaria is with you," Iotova told the Bulgarian athletes.