Amanda Knox is due to fly back to her hometown Seattle in the United States hours after being acquitted over the murder of British student Meredith Kercher, for which she spent four years in jail.
The 24-year-old collapsed in tears after a jury in Perugia, Italy, overturned her conviction on Monday following a successful appeal.
Her ex-boyfriend, 27-year-old Italian Raffaele Sollecito, was also acquitted over the murder.
Meredith, a student at Leeds University from Coulsdon in Surrey, was 21-years-old when she was discovered in bed, half-naked with her throat cut in November 2007.
Knox and Sollecito were convicted of the 21-year-old murder after a year-long trial, receiving 26 and 25 year prison sentences respectively.
Knox's sister Deanna said: "We're thankful that Amanda's nightmare is over. She has suffered for four years for a crime that she did not commit."
She also thanked Knox's lawyers and the support the family received from around the world.
"Not only did they defend her brilliantly, but they also loved her," she said. "And last, we are thankful to the court for having the courage to look for the truth and to overturn this conviction."
She ended the statement by appealing for privacy for the Knox family.
Amanda Knox herself thanked Italians "who shared my suffering and helped me survive with hope", according to the Associated Press.
However John Kercher, Meredith's father, told the Daily Mirror their acquittal was "ludicrous".
"It makes a mockery of the original trial," he said. "We are all shocked. We could understand them reducing the sentence, but completely freeing them? Wow."
Although cleared of murder, Knox was found guilty of defamation by judge Claudio Pratillo Hellmanand. He set her sentence at time served.
Knox’s lawyer said despite the verdict there was "no winner".
"Justice has superseded ... Amanda was a friend of Meredith and we should remember this.
“This [the conviction] was a mistake according to our system ... The court of appeal has rectified the mistake of the original trial.
“Amanda is a very intelligent girl. She has matured. We worked with her in order to defend her … and we are happy to have had her as a client.”
People outside the court gave mixed reactions to the verict. There were ugly scenes where a hostile crowd jeered the both appellant's lawyers. More than 100 people had gathered for the verdict. There were cries of "shame, shame" when the verdict was read out.
The prosecution said they would appeal.