Emma Thompson and her Greg Wise were seen enjoying the sights of Venice after becoming citizens of the city.
The Love Actually star, 60, and her husband, 53, looked in good spirits as they headed out on a cosy stroll on Monday in their winter warmers.
Dame Emma bundled up in a pink checkered coat that she layered over a woollen polo neck and scarf.
New home: Dame Emma Thompson, 60, and her Greg Wise, 53, were seen enjoying the sights of Venice on Monday after becoming citizens of the city
She teamed the jacket with a pair of plain black trousers, whilst she concealed her cropped blonde locks beneath a knitted hat.
Greg also wrapped up warm for the outing in a padded black jacket and navy hoodie.
Reportedly in the wake of Brexit, the Oscar winner left Britain to start a new life in Italy.
Feeling the chill: Dame Emma bundled up in a pink checkered coat that she layered over a woollen polo neck and scarf
Dame Emma and her husband Greg, who played Earl Mountbatten in Netflix hit The Crown, have become citizens of Venice.
They have registered as residents of the lagoon city, where they already own a house, and are both having intensive Italian lessons.
By registering in Venice – which has been hit by recent flooding and the current coronavirus crisis – they have also become official residents of Italy.
This gives them the same rights to healthcare, work and study as an Italian citizen. She and Wise have also been granted honorary citizenship of Venice.
Wrapped up warm: She teamed the jacket with a pair of plain black trousers, whilst she concealed her cropped blonde locks beneath a knitted hat
This has no legal status – it is akin to being made a freeman of the City of London. They will retain their British passports.
Speaking in Italian after signing the formal documents last week, Dame Emma said becoming an honorary citizen of Venice represented ‘the realisation of a dream she had cherished for years’.
Venice’s mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, confirmed that the couple had been granted citizenship in a ceremony in the city’s register office, where they were pictured signing documents and were presented with a Lion of St Mark statuette.
Residents: Dame Emma and her husband Greg, who played Earl Mountbatten in Netflix hit The Crown, have become citizens of Venice. They have registered as residents of the lagoon city
The couple own a £3 million house in West Hampstead, London, but the deputy mayor of Venice, Simone Venturini, said their Italian property would be their main residence. ‘
They wanted to be resident citizens to come and live in Venice,’ he said. ‘They bought in the historic centre, not a ‘second home’.’
Mr Venturini added: ‘She was very happy and said that she loves Venice very much.
‘They told me they are attending Italian courses. We are truly happy and proud to have Emma Thompson and Greg Wise as our fellow citizens, for what they represent and for the love they show for Venice.’
A source at the mayor’s office said Dame Emma took the decision because of Brexit and because her children were now old enough for her to move away, fulfilling her dream to live in Venice properly.
Dame Emma memorably once described Britain as ‘a tiny little cloud-bolted, rainy corner of sort-of Europe, a cake-filled misery-laden grey old island’.
The couple have a 20-year-old daughter, Gaia, and an adopted son, Tindy, in his 30s.
It’s official: The couple (pictured signing papers) have registered as residents of the lagoon city, where they already own a house, and are both having intensive Italian lessons
Dame Emma, who also has a Scottish holiday home, was a strong opponent of Brexit, claiming before the referendum that Britain would be ‘mad’ not to remain in the EU.
The actress and screenwriter added that she ‘just felt European’ and ‘we should be taking down borders, not putting them up’.
She will be following in the footsteps of her Love Actually co-star Colin Firth, who accepted honorary Italian citizenship in 2017, becoming a dual Italian and British citizen.
The actor, whose estranged wife Livia is Italian, previously said: ‘Brexit does not have a single positive aspect for me. Many colleagues, including Emma Thompson, are – like me – enthusiastic Europeans.’
If a Briton registers officially as a resident in an EU country before the deadline of December 31 this year, as Dame Emma has done, they have the right to live and work in that country permanently.
After the deadline, anyone not resident will have to apply and be assessed according to the systems which emerge in individual EU countries.
Bad timing: By registering in Venice (pictured)– which has ironically been hit by recent flooding and the current coronavirus crisis – they have also become official residents of Italy