Halala! Pretty Yende awarded Italian knighthood

If winning was a country, it would be SA! The nation has shaken off the gloom of flooding and power cuts to celebrate Pretty Yende receiving an Italian knighthood.

The SA-born international opera star was this week awarded with The Order/Knight of the Star of Italy.

The Ordine Stella d'Italia was presented to Pretty by the Italian consul in Cape Town.

The accolade, which is listed as an order of knighthood, is given to those who have built extraordinary relations between Italy and other countries.

Posting a picture of herself receiving the award, Pretty said she was humbled by the accolade.

“Being a recipient of The Order/Knight of the Star of Italy deeply humbles and fills me with immense gratitude for such an extraordinary decoration,” she wrote.

She dedicated all her achievements to her mother, Rose, and her sister, Nombulelo.

Posting a picture of herself with them, Pretty paid tribute to the pair.

“These ladies standing beside me are my very wings that allow me to fly to the impossible. Strong women who never [cease] to give me unconditional love and always remind me that we are all just walking each other home.

“Each experience and memory is what we truly carry with us in the end. Advising me to seek progress rather than perfection, and that if anything, being and walking in my path, I can never be denied.”