Former French-Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt on Tuesday met with Italian politicians, including President Giorgio Napolitano, ahead of a visit to Florence to receive the city's honorary citizenship.
On Monday Betancourt, a devout Catholic, spent more than 20 minutes in a private audience with Pope Benedict XVI, calling him a ''being of light''.
The French-Colombian politician was rescued by the Colombian army on July 2 after more than six years in the hands of the Marxist guerrilla group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
She was snatched in 2002, shortly after announcing her intention to run for the Colombian presidency.
The meeting with Napolitano was private and the presidential press office made no comment on the visit, saying only that Betancourt's mother Yolanda Pulecio had also attended.
Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno said after talks at his office that he supported calls to nominate the politician for the Nobel Peace prize, saying she ''symbolises the struggle for the defence of human dignity''.
Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, who will see Betancourt later on Tuesday, said he would express his admiration for her ''poised and restrained'' behaviour.
Betancourt told a Rome news conference on Monday that although she did not rule out a return to politics in Colombia this was no longer a ''priority''.
''Right now, I think my mission is helping the other men and women still being held by the guerrillas''.
She said she was keen to ''bring together a group of people who can help alleviate the suffering of others,'' not only in Colombia ''but wherever in the world people suffer''.
Betancourt is also scheduled to meet opposition Democratic Party leader Walter Veltroni, who awarded her Rome citizenship during her captivity in a bid to publicize her plight.
