They visited an ancient theater, where they watched a performance by a youth art initiative funded by the Queen of Pop
Ricardo Gomes
Madonna in Italy for her 66th birthday in August 2024Madonna celebrated her birthday in Pompei, Italy, with friends and family — plus local youth involved in an art initiative she supports.
The Queen of Pop turned 66 on Friday, Aug. 16, and spent the evening with members of Sogno di Volare, or Dream of Flying, a project that lets local youth act in classical performances at the ancient theater in the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, per a press release.
The singer arrived at the archaeological site late Friday evening with a group of about 30 people — including her rumored boyfriend, soccer player Akeem Morris, and two of her daughters, 11-year-old twins Estere and Stella — to a crowd of adoring fans, sources tell PEOPLE.
Madonna also marked her 66th birthday on Instagram, where she posted glamorous photos of herself, her twins and a shirtless Morris, captioning the post: “Back in Italy...???????? Happy Birthday to ME ????✨????????????????♥️.”
Dave Benett/Getty; COBRA TEAM / BACKGRID
Madonna; her rumored boyfriend Akeem MorrisRelated: Madonna's 6 Children: All About Lourdes, Rocco, David, Mercy, Stella and Estere
On Friday, Madonna and her group appeared just after 10:30 p.m. local time for the performance. Fans had been waiting since 6 p.m., another insider says. The crowd of admirers, which reached up to about 200, sang some of the pop icon’s songs and danced before she arrived.
At the historic site, the park’s director, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, took the pop superstar and her loved ones on a guided tour, which was interspersed with performances, per the release.
Namely, a chorus of both teenagers and young children involved in the Madonna-funded Dream of Flying project sang for the star in Italian, Neapolitan and English.
The goal of the youth initiative, which Madonna financed in its entirety through 2025 through her Ray of Light Foundation, is to involve the local community in the cultural life of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, a world heritage site.
“The Dream of Flying project so generously supported by Madonna is strategic for Pompei because it addresses the people living in this wonderful and complex territory, particularly the young, and makes them protagonists of an experience through which we wanted to demonstrate that art and culture truly can change our lives,” Zuchtriegel said in the release.
The site director also stated that he wanted to “sincerely thank Madonna for her generosity, vision, and humanity that will be a great source of inspiration to move forward,” and expressed gratitude for the “beautiful gift she gave us on her birthday.”
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Madonna with her twin daughters, Estere and Stella, in July 2024Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Madonna was first spotted in Italy for her birthday visit with Morris — who she sparked romance rumors with in July 2024 — earlier in the day on Aug. 16.
The star was seen arriving in a boat at a remote destination in Portofino, which is reportedly the private estate of Dolce & Gabbana, per Italian press.
Though twins Estere and Stella joined her and Morris for their tour of Pompei, the star’s other four children — Lourdes, 27, Rocco, 24, David, 18, and Mercy, 18 — did not appear to accompany her.
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