La dolce vita only gets sweeter with time.

Monica Bellucci, who turned 62 on Wednesday, got candid about aging in Harper’s Bazaar Spain’s October cover story.

“There’s no real alternative: either you grow old and accept the process with dignity, or you die,” the “Malèna” star said. “Looking at it that way, I’d much rather grow old,” she added with a laugh.

“Growing old means you’re fortunate enough to still be alive and have a future. Besides, maturity brings with it a wonderful gift: detachment.”

In her latest film, “The Birthday Party” (or “Histoires de la nuit”), which competed at Cannes in May, Bellucci plays Cristina, a reclusive painter who fears women “become transparent” after a certain age. The actress sees it differently.

“I could never have played this role when I was 30 or 40, not even with layers of makeup to age myself,” she said. “To give substance, weight, and truth to a character with that level of inner turmoil, you have to have lived.”

The mother of two — who shares daughters Léonie, 16, and Deva, 22, with ex-husband Vincent Cassel — posed in lipstick-red Valentino and slinky Dolce & Gabbana on the magazine’s dual covers.

Photographed by Rocío Ramos, the longtime Cartier ambassador was kitted out in diamonds and emeralds from the Parisian jeweler throughout the shoot.

Feeling beautiful today, she said, “is about having a rich inner life, a passion that inspires you, watching your children grow, gazing at the sea, having friends, a family you love … a fulfilling life as a woman.”

A year after her split from Tim Burton, she named love as her greatest luxury.

“Life is a perpetual transformation,” Bellucci reflected. “That said, I’m proud of myself and of being a woman, because femininity is the strength of humanity.”