The tram is white, in a nod to the dancer’s trademark fashion sense, and carries the inscription “Milano per Carla Fracci”.

The idea was first suggested by Milan Mayor Beppe Sala who, on the day of Fracci’s funeral, said he had asked the city’s public transport body ATM to dedicate a tram to the ballet legend.

The Line 1 tram passes in front of La Scala opera house, where Fracci studied and would go on to become one of its top stars, best known for her performances as Giselle.

Sala suggested the tram would be a “very Milanese way” of remembering Fracci, who was the “proud daughter of a tram driver”.

The mayor also recalled that the ballerina’s father, Luigi, took his daughter as a little girl on the Line 1 tram to her first audition at La Scala.

As the years went by, Fracci rose to international fame, dancing alongside some of the greatest dancers in the world.

Whenever her father drove his tram past La Scala, he would ring the bell three times with pride.

Fracci died at the age of 84 in her home in Milan.

According to local media reports, she had been suffering from cancer.