Due to the pandemic, numerous concerts were canceled during this period, the arenas are empty, but also the cinemas and theaters. This situation has been going on for more than a year and many show business workers have had big problems for them and their families. I am not speaking only of the great artists, but of the many people who are in the backstage, workers, electricians, editors, audio technicians, etc.
It is really sad for us not to be able to go to the cinema or to the theater or to see a nice outdoor concert, but even more sad for these families to have no income. They are often people with seasonal work and for a year, they have had very little help and have not been able to count on a paid job.
In order to help these people and families, an Italian rapper, Fedez, decided to launch an initiative, creating a Fund to help show business workers.
This beautiful initiative is called “Scena Unita”.
Fedez involved many of his colleagues, and aimed to create a Fund to help show business workers. A concrete, economic commitment, which saw several well-known faces participate, committing themselves at the forefront of putting the idea into practice.
Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca certainly did not remain insensitive to this initiative and they too were part of it. During the press conference for the tribute event to Morricone, a journalist had asked Il Volo about their participation and Ignazio had confirmed.
But we had no doubts about their participation, knowing how much Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio are sensitive to these problems and how big their hearts are.
Fedez a couple of days ago thanked all the artists who participated, publishing the long list of the name, and wrote as follows:
“Every artist present participated in this initiative, donating personally. Thanks to all the artists and brands who have decided to support this cause ….”
The initiative has so far raised about 4 million euros and 1 million 800 thousand have already been distributed.
Guys, as usual, you don’t let us down.
Your altruism knows no bounds.
We are very proud of you.
Thanks from all of us.
What better way to finish, with the words of this beautiful song of yours:
Daniela
Today is also April 25, an important day for Italy, which commemorates the feast for the liberation.
But on April 25, 2009, 12 years ago, the adventure of three small children began: Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca, they sang a song together for the first time on “Ti Lascio Una Canzone.”
Best wishes guys, that Il Volo is always active and a long road ahead of you, studded with many successes !! ❤❤❤
Three months have passed since Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca, due to the pandemic, unfortunately had to stop their beautiful concert tour in the US.
ACCORDING TO OUR LATEST PRESS RELEASE IL VOLO FORCED TO CANCEL FINAL CONCERTS OF 2020 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DUE TO THE COVID-19 GLOBAL PANDEMIC.
On their return to Italy, they found a great change. Empty airports, empty cities, quarantine imposed on the whole nation, to avoid further spread of virus infection.
The boys themselves were unable to embrace their loved ones, but to stay in quarantine to guarantee their relatives that they had no active contagion.
In this period, where contacts were only online, the boys have been very active, and have accustomed us to a presence in programs, directly from their homes.
It was pleasant for us to be able to hear and see them in the intimacy of their personal places.
Il Volo joined fundraisers for many charity works.
Many television programs have re-transmitted old concerts, and broadcasts, which we have reviewed with great pleasure.
The concerts scheduled for this summer in Europe and Italy have unfortunately been moved to next year.
It is still too early here for the concerts, even the cinemas have not yet reopened, but we hope that the November concerts in Milan, Rome and Turin will be maintained.
The quarantine period is also over and we were able to see the first outings of Gian, Piero and Ignazio’s house, wearing the obligatory masks.
Now things have improved here and in some regions, especially in the south, masks are no longer mandatory, but use is required for places such as shops or during outdoor gatherings, where, however, distance is always a must .
It’s summer, it’s very hot, and it’s really difficult to keep your distance and wear masks, but we have to do it, to guarantee ourselves and others.
Ignazio Piero and Gianluca, now, are much more difficult to be found, they are less present on social networks, they have resumed their normal post-quarantine life.
Gianluca met his twin friends.😁
Piero has turned 27. AUGURI!!❤️
Ignazio dedicates himself to new interests with Floki Production and Nico Arezzo.😉
In the last few days, a film music great Ennio Morricone has passed away. Il Volo remembered Morricone, who was a great composer of film music, with this video and this beautiful dedication.
Music today has suffered a great loss.
Thanks for everything, Master.
In last few days, our boys met after three months, on the occasion of the Dolce & Gabbana fashion show.
I would say that Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca are really in excellent shape.
What about the fantastic presentation video of the Dolce & Gabbana collection?
Beautiful clothes, beautiful environment and fantastic music !!
Ignazio, Piero and Gianluca said during the forced quarantine that they were working on various projects and that they were in constant contact with each other to develop beautiful ideas.
We really hope that all this time and all the concerts postponed, will bring us beautiful and interesting things for the future of Il Volo.
So things here in Italy seem to improve, but every day we receive truly alarming news of the contagion in the US.
We understand very well what you are all going through and we are close to you.
In the US the numbers are terrible, how many dead, how many infected, certainly everything is relative as regards the numbers, but they are really thousands of lives and we still don’t know how to stop this devious pandemic.
Time will pass, before we can breathe a sigh of relief, time will pass, before returning to talk only about good concerts.
Le porte stanno iniziando ad aprirsi, grazie a Dio.(The doors are beginning to open, thank God).
My Flight Crew colleague, Daniela, explained very succinctly today that in Italy, “…finalmente abbiamo ricominciato ad uscire, ma con cautela.” “We have finally started to come out again, but with great caution.”
Italy’s viral protection measures are quite different than ours in the US. For example, during the 10-week stay at home period all over Italy, no visits of any type and no outdoor exercise were allowed. Restaurant takeout service was forbidden all over the country. Now that Italy is in Phase 2, takeout service, some visiting, and some outdoor exercise is allowed, but social gatherings are still forbidden, and masks, gloves and social distancing are still mandatory and will remain mandatory for later phases as well. Italian Phase 2 regulations allow visits to “congiunti” (an old term for certain relatives, up to your spouse’s cousins and your cousins’ children). Taken together, these regulations explain why we sometimes see Instagram photos of Ignazio out hiking around alone with Nina, or Gianluca on the beach with doggie Luna but no people, or playing tennis under a mask.
In the spirit of the new Phase 2 conditions, Gianluca was invited to participate in honoring the staff of Abruzzo’s Ospedale di San Liberatore di Apri. Abruzzo in general, and this hospital in specific, have seen a remarkable reduction to the numbers of COVID emergency cases and a high recovery rate, due to their efforts. The hospital staff to be honored included representatives from all levels who have been serving through the crisis, from nurses to emergency room staff to cleaning crew (one of the most high-risk hospital jobs during infection emergencies).
This ceremony shows how much the Il Volo boys have accomplished so young. San Liberatore is the same hospital where La Signora Eleanora Ginoble gave birth to her first son, Gianluca, in 1995. Some of the people Gianluca came there to honor could probably remember when he was born there, not long ago.
San Liberatore, by the way, is the nickname of Saint Eleutherius, one of Abruzzo’s favorite saints and martyrs, from the second century. He’s venerated among Albanian, Greek, and Roman Catholics and Abruzzese Italians. There’s a famous basilica built and named in his honor that is also nearby in Abruzzo, called San Liberatore a Maiella.
Abruzzo seems to produce men who achieve great fame very early. By one tradition, Eleutherius/San Liberatore became a bishop when he was only 20 years old. We Sicilians insist he was bishop of Messina, Sicily so we can lay claim to him, too. We can’t lay claim to the other Abruzzesi heroes (like Dean Martin and Gianluca Ginoble, to name a few); but we Sicilians have enough notables of our own. (OK, that was for the fans of Piero and Ignazio).
On to the Television Clip.
Everyone has their own style and preferences – apparently even in medical protective equipment. I once heard Gianluca as a teenager being asked in an interview about his taste in colors. His reply? “I like it black and white.” That probably explains his house interior decor, his white car, and a lot of his clothes. So of course, when he appears in public with a re-usable personal mask for this event, it’s black. Somehow you could tell who was under the mask, even if he wasn’t surrounded by TV cameras and crew shouting his name. It must be the hair.
In the clip I saw, the interviewers didn’t identify themselves before starting their cameras rolling, so I will refer to them as “Interviewer 1 or 2.”
Interviewer 1, after asking Gian how is father is: We were just saying that in some cases, stars don’t get behind this kind of thing, but that isn’t the case [with you].
Gianluca: You know that I am really proud of being Abruzzese, but more importantly, we should all be proud of the work that some of these superheroes are doing – doctors, nurses, medical staff who are saving lives. When there was an opportunity to honor them, I couldn’t miss it. I’m really happy to be here.
Interviewer 1: So a rose for each of these “signore in gamba” (a lovely Italian idiom for “great ladies and gentlemen,” referring to the health workers who are to be honored shortly.)
Gian: A thousand roses, but at the moment I don’t have any on hand, so spiritual roses, in a manner of speaking. This makes me feel I’m a little more of a “Rosetano,” too. (People from Roseto d’Abruzzo, like Gianluca’s family, call each other “Rosetanos”).
Interviewer 1: So, you’re also waiting for all this to end?
Gian: We’re going through a difficult period. We’re anxious, waiting for the end of this tough time. For the moment, I want to act really responsibly. The message I want to send to people my age, and those even younger, is that they also should act responsibly, to grasp the seriousness of this situation, above all for the safety of our loved ones. This small break in the isolation doesn’t mean it’s over. We need to remain cautious for ourselves, but more importantly for the health of our elders. I very rarely see my Grandfather, Ernesto, the love of my life, but unfortunately at this time we have to continue to be careful, especially for the health of our loved ones.
Interviewer 2: Gianluca, is it true that you were born in this same hospital?
Gian: I was born in this hospital the 11th of February 1995.
Interviewer 2: This hospital has waged such a great battle against this virus.
Gian: Something for Abruzzo to be proud of.
Interviewer 2: A very emotional moment, true.
Gian: [These are] powerful and compassionate people. We Abruzzesi are strong. I’m really proud of these heroes who are continually saving lives.
Interviewer 2: What do you want to say to these health workers of our hospital who have labored with courage, with a sense of duty, to confront this Coronavirus to bring it to an end?
Gian: A gigantic thank you, because without them the situation would really have been much more dangerous. They’re already dear to each person and family whose lives they have already saved, and they’re still at it.
(At this point, a technician attaches a collar mike to Gianluca, while the second interviewer introduces the ceremony to come.)
Interviewer 2: Right now, we are in front of the hospital of Apri, San Liberatore di Apri. As we were discussing, there are representatives here from the medical staff: doctors, nurses, other medical workers, and others who run the business of a hospital. The hospital is re-opening in a sense, after the COVID emergency, offering services for the many other more common illnesses and medical needs we’re familiar with. This means that the viral emergency is starting to come to an end, and we of course are really pleased. This is a lovely moment to linger over, along with the world-famous young artist and lyric singer, Gianluca Ginoble, who has accepted an invitation and came here to give honor and thanks to all the personnel who have labored with great courage and determination during these weeks and months of serious emergency. It will be Gianluca, who will thank each of them. He’s being interviewed at this moment by my colleagues from RAI and other stations. We are recognizing together this moment that marks the end, we hope, of the emergency and the hospital’s return to less stressful and more normal hospital routine. There are also medical experts present who have followed all the stages of this emergency and are here just to celebrate this moment. We are proud of Gianluca Ginoble who recalled for us that he was born in this hospital and remains very attached, a son of this land, and he himself is proud of this community who courageously faced down this very difficult and tough challenge.
Gian (to another interviewer in the near background): This is one truly positive thing that has come out of this quarantine – living with your family in ways we’ve never done before.
The basket of eight roses for the ceremony is brought to him and he and the film crew exchange instructions for how to do the presentation safely. He gives out the roses while thanking them and making jokes about air hugs (“un abbracio al volo”) and the interviewer jokes about air kisses. Some of the representatives receiving a rose tell him they will be sharing the rose with their teammates and co-workers inside. Then they assemble to take “qualche bella riprese” (some nice shots), which are done with proper social distancing of course (see the pictures).
Ripensamenti (Afterthoughts)
It almost broke my heart to watch what an Italian group photo looks like now – no hugging or Italian-style draping all over each other, no cheek-to-cheek selfies. You can see a small line of people two meters apart, all covered in masks, standing with gloved or ungloved hands at their sides or their arms crossed. This is definitely NOT how Il Volo, or any Italians, normally behave. And with those masks, how can you even tell if they are smiling? Rabbi Aiello of Calabria, Italy, way south of Abruzzo, said this week that now we all have to learn and remember to smile with our eyes. She demonstrated behind a really cool red, white and green Italian flag mask. (I want one).
On the other hand, it’s warming to note how close the Abruzzese locals in the film clip are to one another (obviously not physically). None of the TV crew needed to introduce themselves to Gianluca, since they all knew each other. At least one of the hospital staff, and one of the TV crew, wanted Gianluca to send their greetings to his dad, Ercole (“Salute a Papa”).
I’m personally fond of Mr. Ginoble, Sr., myself. I really like his funny postings contemplating random things like the speed of light being faster the speed of sound. (That explains why some people seem intelligent when you first see them, until they eventually open their mouth and you hear what stupidity comes out…) But I was really touched by one of the most poignant images Mr. Ginoble posted: a cartoon of DC and Marvel superheroes all bowing to the real superheroes, front line medical workers in masks and scrubs walking down a hospital hallway (see the picture below).
Anche questo deve passare. This too, shall pass.We all share in extreme gratefulness for all the front-line health worker heroes in Europe and at home, who are staying on the job at risk of their own lives, to protect ours. Una grazie gigante. An enormous thank you!
Poscritto (Post Script): As we were preparing this article, Gianluca’s dad, Ercole posted a Facebook clip of Gianluca’s appeal for support for the Italian Red Cross of Roseto’s efforts against COVID-19. The Ginobles are Rosetone to the core, and as a whole family are very involved in Roseto, the Abruzzo region, and its needs. The Red Cross focus in Roseto is to provide protective gear to workers and the needy, and to teach them how to use the equipment properly. Other Red Cross branches in Italy and the US are making a push to collect blood from recovered COVID patients for blood antibodies to aid in treatment. (My elderly friend recently survived COVID, even with her pulmonary hypertension, thanks to one of these blood antibody treatments, and a whole lot of prayer.)That is such great news, Jo Ann! Jana…
I’ve translated Gianluca’s appeal below. The ad shows where to support the Italian Red Cross through the local Red Cross Committee of Roseto. You can also go to www.redcross.org in the US.
“Hello to everyone. I invite you at this time of great difficulty to support the Italian Red Cross Committee of Roseto. The funds are being used to provide personnel protective equipment for all the volunteers engaged in the fight against the Coronavirus, who in addition to helping our community are now helping the people most affected by the virus. I just wanted to let you know how much we all need your support. Thank you.”
Il Volo also performed in the on-line special “Fatto in Casa” (Made at Home) for Dolce & Gabbana’s fundraiser to support virology research. B&B are funding Humanitas University’s work to understand the immune response to SARS-COV-2 and to accelerate a vaccine. You can support them at www.dolcegabbana.forfunding.it
What a beautiful post written by JoAnn! I believe the US can really take some lessons from Italy. And they have said, “Who is that masked man?” For we know the answer! It is Gianluca! 🙂 Jana…
Come in and share the love of life, friends and Il Volo!
during the 10-week stay at home period all over Italy, no visits of any type and no outdoor exercise were allowed. Restaurant takeout service was forbidden all over the country. Now that Italy is in Phase 2, takeout service, some visiting, and some outdoor exercise is allowed, but social gatherings are still forbidden, and masks, gloves and social distancing are still mandatory and will remain mandatory for later phases as well. Italian Phase 2 regulations allow visits to “congiunti” (an old term for certain relatives, up to your spouse’s cousins and your cousins’ children). Taken together, these regulations explain why we sometimes see Instagram photos of Ignazio out hiking around alone with Nina, or Gianluca on the beach with doggie Luna but no people, or playing tennis under a mask.
