The city of Milan on Monday honoured 'punk rock poet laureate' Patti Smith for more than 30 years of artistry and battles for peace and human rights.
Accepting a civic plaque and a bunch of white roses from city officials, the 60-year-old rock legend said "I'm very happy to be in Milan, my favourite Italian city".
Smith's two-and-a-half-month European tour is set to end Monday night at the Milan Jamming Festival.
"Italian crowds have always shown great affection for me," Smith said, adding that she had been "really impressed" by the turn-out at Italian anti-war protests in recent years.
On Tuesday Smith will stay in Milan for her one day off this summer before she heads back for a brief run through selected US cities.
She said she was looking forward to seeing La Traviata at La Scala Tuesday night.
Handing over the tribute, Milan sports and leisure events chief Giovanni Terzi said "Patti Smith is an all-round artist not only because of her beautiful songs but also because of her campaigns for human rights, her paintings and poetry".
Smith is considered one of the most influential artists in rock history.
In 2005, Rolling Stone magazine placed her 47th in its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
A former factory worker, performance artist and rock journalist, Smith came out of the early 1970s New York pre-punk scene to produce her highly influential first album, Horses (1975).
Beginning with a celebrated cover of Van Morrison's 'Gloria', the record fused rock and roll and proto-punk with spoken poetry and is widely considered one of rock's greatest debuts.
Smith brought a feminist and intellectual take to the punk movement and became an inspiration to the bands that emerged from New York's legendary punk club CBGB.
Although her commercial success has been limited to one hit single - 1978's Because the Night, co-written with Bruce Springsteen - her work as an anti-establishment singer, poet, painter and fierce opponent of US foreign policy has made her an icon for generations of fans.
Last October she did the final show at CBGB, which was closing after a 33-year run. Smith performed a three-and-a-half-hour set to a sell-out crowd.
In March this year she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
