Police searching for Callas dress

ATHENS, Greece, May 30 (UPI) -- Police in Athens are reviewing surveillance video for help in identifying a thief who stole a dress belonging to the late diva Maria Callas on display.

The gown, taken from the Italian Cultural Institute last week, was one of hundreds of personal belongings of the internationally renown opera singer displayed to mark the 30th anniversary of her death, Kathimerini reported Wednesday.

"It was an exceptionally well-organized theft," institute director Melita Palestini said Tuesday when the robbery was discovered following the center's three-day closure for a religious holiday.

Palestini said the location of the dress -- in a corner behind a column -- probably aided the thief in removing it near closing time Friday, the exhibit's last day.