Status of Virgo

{The commissioning phase of the full Virgo gravity-wave interferometric detector started in September 2003, and ended in May 2007 as the data taking phase began. This activity was intended to achieve a stable operation of the detector, at its design strain sensitivity, in the frequency bandwidth extending from about 10 Hz up to a few kHz, with a value of a few 10¡23 around 500 Hz. In September 2006 the first weekend science run (WSR 1) was held, followed by one or two more each month until WSR 10 in March 2007, The WSRs served to test the detector performance and reliability, and to prepare the transition to the long scientific data taking period which started on 18 May 2007. In this article the main features of Virgo, together with its actual status and sensitivity at the beginning of its first long science run, are presented.}