Madonna's private art tour

Madonna enjoyed a two-hour private tour of an Italian art gallery at the weekend.

The 53-year-old singer was accompanied by boyfriend Brahim Zaibat and her 11-year-old son Rocco - whose father is her ex-husband Guy Ritchie - to the Uffizi gallery in Florence and was particularly interested in the pagan works in the art museum, which is home to famous works by Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Giotto, Titian and Sandro Botticelli.

Museum chief Cristina Acidini said: "Madonna was very interested in all the works in the museum...

"She was particularly taken by Botticelli's Birth of Venus and spent several minutes in front of the work asking questions and wanting to know all about it. I got the impression she was very interested to hear all about pagan and sacred mythology and she wanted to know all about the philosophy of the works that we have in the Uffizi."

The 'Hung Up' hitmaker - who is also mother to Lourdes, 15, David, seven, and six-year-old Mercy - visited the museum after hours and was given expert information from museum staff.

Cristina added: "There is a fee for this but it's something we don't really discuss but the price does include all the services of the staff who have to stay behind and who were able to offer commentary on the exhibits."