After the “Night of the Stars” event, we all thought that Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio would begin their well-deserved holidays, but we were wrong, because the 1st Silvio Berlusconi Trophy was scheduled, a football match between two teams, the Milan and Monza, both of which have Silvio Berlusconi as their president.
Here is the promo of the event.
VOICE= An evening live event, a special celebration thanks to Il Volo. Competition, passion, unforgettable moments. An indelible mark on world football. Two teams, a president forever in the heart. First Silvio Berlusconi trophy Monza-Milan live on Canale 5
Dressed with casual elegance, in black, Gianluca, Ignazio and Piero sing two tunes: “UN AMORE COSÌ GRANDE”, a clear reference to the great love that Silvio Berlusconi has always had for his football teams.
And then the “NESSUN DORMA” that is often sung at the beginning of a game. Impeccable as always our boys.
Whether they present themselves in a very classic environment like in Caserta and before a football match, our boys are never out of place and always give their best.
Now I would say that our guys can really go on vacation, in fact there are already the first videos from the places they have already reached.
Ignazio lets us know that he is in Sicily on the beautiful island of Pantelleria, with friends …… and who knows that he will find love!!
Piero has always said that he spends his holidays in Sicily and in fact we have this photo.
Gianluca sends us this beautiful photo of a sunset in Montepagano.
But first he was “pinched” by a journalist while kissing his Eleonora and the photo ended up in the weekly CHI.
The newspaper comment goes like this:
GIANLUCA GINOBLE, ELEONORA MAKES HIM…FLY 🎼 They have been together for more than a year, but they remain a couple full of passion: we are talking about Gianluca Ginoble, 28, singer of the award-winning musical trio Il Volo, and Eleonora Venturini Storaro, 28, young stylist and granddaughter of the great cinematographer Vittorio Storaro (“Apocalypse Now” by Francis Ford Coppola and “Tea in the desert” by Bernardo Bertolucci bear his signature). The two, on vacation, can’t tear themselves away from each other, between kisses and hugs ❤️.
Gianluca also posted this beautiful and affectionate photo! ❤
I’m sincerely happy that Gianluca, Ignazio and Piero are on vacation, they need to let their minds wander and “recharge their batteries”, I think there will be an intense autumn and they will surprise us with so many new things.
There seemed to be a moment of calm until August 3rd, but a good interview with Il Volo was published in the weekly magazine OGGI.
A nice article written by Dea Verna, in which I appreciated some questions and beautiful photos, and the possibility for our boys to remove some “pebbles from their shoes”. I will translate for you.
They joke with each other, make fun of each other, tease each other.
“Gianluca and I always talk, Ignazio on the other hand is the one who disappears”, says Piero Barone. “I’m like this, I need to pull the plug, I’m hurt,” explains Boschetto.
The three guys from Il Volo will celebrate 15 years of their career in 2024. “We spent half a life together, think how lucky”.
It all started on 25 April 2009 when very young competitors of Ti Lascio una Canzone conducted by Antonella Clerici, were put together to sing O SOLE MIO.
Now, after conquering the world, having sold out several times at Radio City Music Hall in New York, winning the Sanremo festival in 2015, they are giving themselves a whim in Italy.
For the first time they bring their show, ALL FOR ONE, to a theater, at the Arcimboldi in Milan, on 2,3,4,6,8,9 September.
“We wanted an intimate atmosphere, to have the audience close,” they say.
“We used to sing together and it was almost impossible to tell one from the other. Now we’ve grown up, there are solo moments, we want to surprise the audience and expand it.”
What’s your life like when you’re not on tour?
PIERO= Simple, I live in Sicily, in the province of Agrigento. I wake up at 05:30AM, I go out on the boat with a friend, we go fishing. Then I run, I’m preparing for the New York Marathon, or I play tennis. After sport, a nice gin and tonic with friends.
GIANLUCA= I live in Roseto degli Abruzzi. I wake up early, work out at the gym, have lunch with my grandpa, hang out with family and friends. Of the three, I am the only boyfriend.
IGNAZIO= (He lives in Bologna) Before, I used to go to sleep very late, I did nothing except stay closed in a studio with video games. Now I wake up early and go play tennis.
Then there’s your Hollywood life. The best meeting?
PIERO= Placido Domingo, who came to do vocals in our dressing room before the New York concert, José Carreras. We met Woody Allen in a New York restaurant, and we started singing together. He told us his favorite wine is Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.
GIANLUCA= As teenagers we sang with Barbra Streisand, a privilege. I was thrilled when I met John Meyers in Malibu, who is considered the new Eric Clapton.
And Pope Francis?
GIANLUCA= We met him three times. The first time in 2014, when I was just over 18, I greeted him by saying “Hello” to the Pope……but he remained calm and replied: “Hello”.
The madness of a fan?
PIERO= One day I was in Austin, Texas, running on a treadmill. I see the woman next to me has something on her left ankle that looks familiar. She had my autograph tattooed on her.”
Has this extraordinary career that began at the age of 14 taken anything away from you?
GIANLUCA= The possibility of going to school. Ten years ago my peers read the DIVINE COMEDY, perhaps reluctantly, I regret not having done so. I’m recovering.”
IGNAZIO= I’ve missed the bullshit you do as a kid, like riding a moped with friends until four in the morning. We grew up quickly, with many responsibilities.
You challenged prejudices about your musical genre, loved by the public, less by the critics.
GIANLUCA= Every artist should be the first critic of himself. What can you expect from three 15-year-old boys? We could not have the depth of De Andrè or Guccini, who we listen to and love.
Now we want to build a repertoire that is not only based on virtuosity.
PIERO= There is a difference between criticism and offense. Why rage against three guys who love what they do?
There is nothing built in us, otherwise we wouldn’t still be here after almost 15 years.
In 2019 in Sanremo, some journalists in the press room insulted you.
IGNAZIO= As long as they take it out on us, as long as they say we make music for old men, amen.
But Sanremo was an offense to music, to those who make it and those who love it, to the public.
Meanwhile, you and the Maneskin are our export groups.
IGNAZIO= Look, let’s make two genres that were considered extinct. Rock had been forgotten in the 2000s. And no one does bel canto anymore, only Bocelli and us.
We have a female prime minister. Does it make you proud?
PIERO= Sure. There are more and more women leaders, the patriarchy is weakening.
IGNAZIO= The bad thing is being surprised, it should be normal.
What do you think of Meloni (Giorgia Meloni as our Prime Minister)
PIERO= She is a woman who is working, bringing results. Let’s hope everything goes well. We hope that those who represent us, who have been elected by the pool, do a good job.
What should the government do?
PIERO= Investing in culture, education, school. Trust young people, encourage them.
GIANLUCA= It’s a society in which television and social media give importance to wealth, to perfection, but it’s crap. Only culture can save us.
As you may have noticed, one of the photos was taken in the Vatican, exactly in the Sistine Chapel, Gianluca Ignazio and Piero with the background of Michelangelo’s “Universal Flood”, wonderful photo!!
This second shot is also very nice, which shows us our loved ones in their current maturity.
But that’s not all, there is a beautiful video, a nice surprise made to a fan of Gianluca, here is the video, it will touch your heart! ❤
This fan comes from Calabria, her dream was to meet Gianluca, a dream fulfilled, the emotion of the girl who can’tsay anything at the beginning from the emotion is palpable. Great Gianluca who allowed this dream to come true.
At the beginning of the video, you can clearly see the alley of Montepagano where Gianluca lives, he comes out exactly from his house to greet Martina.
Thanks Gianluca, once again we could see your kind and good soul.
The friend Donatella Merlotti, florist in Roseto degli Abruzzi, acted as a bridge to be able to realize the meeting between Martina and Gianluca.
She posted the video with these words: “Martina’s dream was to meet Gianluca Ginoble. In her condition it wasn’t easy, but when love and goodwill come together, nothing is impossible. From Calabria, to Piedmont and then to Abruzzo. A heartfelt thanks to Gianluca for his availability and kindness. I am happy to have contributed to Martina’s happiness, together with her parents and my sister.”
I found the same video with the original audio and I translated the few words said:
(You must have an Instagram account to view these video stories.)
GIANLUCA= Hello, how are you, are you all right? (Gianluca embraces and squeezes Martina who is very excited and unable to speak)
DONATELLA= For her it is a historic moment.
GIANLUCA= Wait, you dropped your phone. You brought me flowers, thank you, thank you very much, are you happy?
DONATELLA= She can’t speak! (for the emotion)
GIANLUCA= Thank you, thank you!
DONATELLA= But thanks to you Gianluca for being so kind, a really great gift.
GIANLUCA= But this is the minimum, you think, for so little, thank you, thank you (Gianluca takes the flowers). Usually it’s the gentlemen who bring the flowers and you brought them to me.
DONATELLA= And you give them back to her.
GIANLUCA = Hello, how are you? (Gianluca greets Martina’s parents) ,
DONATELLA= (turning to Martina) Love, let’s put us in the shade that there is a strong sun.
MARTINA’S MOM = Good morning,….. sorry…..
GIANLUCA= Where are you from?
MARTINA’S FATHER = Calabrian.
GIANLUCA= Ah, from Calabria! Shall we go for a coffee?
MARTINA’S MOM = Thank you, we don’t want to disturb you.
GIANLUCA= It’s not a nuisance.
(now they are at the bar) …… no, here in Abruzzo.
MARTINA= Unfortunately we are leaving now.
MARTINA’ S MOM= We will arrive home tonight.
Well, I’d say there’s not much to add, words are useless, we all enjoyed this nice gesture, not just Martina. ❤
Just one last thing, I remind you that on August 3 Il Volo will sing with Placido Domingo at the REGGIA DI CASERTA.
There was a lot of expectation for Il Volo’s participation in the Eurovision 2022 semifinal, especially after the news of Gianluca’s positivity at Covid had spread, which forced him to return home immediately and leave Ignazio and Piero alone , who with the production team and technology, allowed everything to happen, with Ignazio and Piero on stage and Gianluca from home. The result was excellent, as can be seen from the video below.
Please click the photo below to play the video.
I would say it was a beautiful performance, they really found a solution to make the performance happen, the projection of Gianluca singing from home is remarkable and thanks to the technology and the production team everything was solved.
The new version of Grande Amore is excellent, it is not only sung in English, but also in Italian and this does not distort the original song, even the musical arrangement is a little more modern, but it is not alien to the first more classical version, in short , it seems to me an excellent result.
The voices of our Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca are always excellent, all at the top !! ❤❤❤
At the end of the performance Piero and Ignazio thank the Turin public and Ignazio greets Gianluca with …………. hello Gianlu !!!!
Demonstrating, as if there were the affection that always binds these three young men and heartening Gianluca that surely he will have been heartbroken by everything that had happened.
But let’s go back to the morning of May 11, when everything was still “normal”.
Piero Ignazio and Gianluca are on their way to Turin, where there will be rehearsals for all the artists and guests of the second evening of ESC.
Unaware of what was happening to them, the three headed to the Eurovision entrance where, to access, it is mandatory to take the test.
It is certainly not the first they do and they are calm because they are negative.
In fact, Ignazio and Piero are negative, but Gianluca is POSITIVE!!!! But he is fine, he has only a slight cold, everything seems impossible but it is so, unfortunately.
We can only imagine Gianluca’s desperation, certainly before leaving Montepagano, he had taken a test and it was negative and now he is POSITIVE.
Although there was certainly a lot of desperation, Gianluca could not do anything but lock himself in isolation in a room, waiting for a car to take him back to Montepagano, while Piero and Ignazio had nothing left but to find a solution together with their staff.
While the news was making the rounds of all the fans pages, the Il Volo team and the ESC production quickly thought of a solution.
Covid, has accustomed us to connections from home and therefore, it was immediately thought of being able to make a performance with Piero and Ignazio on stage and Gianluca from home.
Great thing, ESC could still have Il Volo!
The various interviews begin, naturally there are only Ignazio and Piero.
Naturally Ignazio and Piero try to play down the situation nicely, cheerfully answering the questions, but it is certain that their thoughts go to Gianluca and his misfortune of this case. ❤
Here is the news given by the RAI1 news program.
WOMAN = News of these hours, one of the components of Il Volo tested positive for Covid, he will perform anyway, he will do it digitally, our correspondent Leonardo Metalli met the other two.
LM = I seem to notice that Gianluca is missing, what happened?
IGNAZIO = Nothing, we couldn’t take it anymore and we got rid of it …😁😁
PIERO = We kicked him out, that’s enough!😁😁
LM = The truth!
PIERO = He tested positive at Covid, so he is in isolation, but fortunately in 2022 with technology, we will be able to tread the Eurovision stage in Italy.
MAN = The only version you haven’t made of Grande Amore, a little rock, a little symphonic …
IGNAZIO = Yes, a different version from the one before, in a slightly more rock style, naturally we will miss Gianluca on stage.❤
The voice will be there, that’s for sure.
We have it here Gianluca, in the little heart.❤
PIERO = He will watch us on TV, bye Gianluca ❤
This interview is also really nice, I translate for you.
WOMAN = IL VOLO!
PIERO = I often watch this program, it’s the one with the mirror …. hello Serena (she is the host)
COVID DOES NOT STOP THE MUSIC
MAN = The news of course: there is no Gianluca and so what will this performance be like for two?
IGNAZIO = We will have more space on stage for sure😁 …. no, well, we will miss him. ❤ This morning he tested positive and, as is done in these cases, immediately in isolation and we are already working with the production to be able to do the exhibition, certainly Gianluca’s voice will not be missing. It is an anomalous situation …
MAN = Has this ever happened to you before?
IGNAZIO = Yes, once.
PIERO = Yes, in Portugal, but we went on the air anyway, he is always the problem (Gianluca due to a heavy snowfall in Montepagano was unable to reach the others in Portugal).
We will clearly sing GRANDE AMORE. Returning to Eurovision, we wanted to do something different, we called our friend Enrico Melozzi who gave a rock key …..
MAN = He is also a friend of our program.
PIERO = Enrico, he is a great professional. He did a good job, we are very happy, we hope to surprise our audience, we will give our best.
IGNAZIO = See you this summer on tour, I take this opportunity to promote ….
PIERO = He is the promotion expert …
IGNAZIO = We will start on June 3rd and 4th from the Verona Arena …
MAN = A little thing ….
IGNAZIO = …. then there will be Taormina, and then we will do cities like Torre del Lago, Benevento, Ferrara, Agrigento, and therefore we can’t wait to return, after two and a half years.
MAN = Last thing, you have listened to the songs in the competition, who do you like?
IGNAZIO = I like England.
MAN = What a voice, Space Man.
IGNAZIO = I’ve been following him for two years on social media. His voice control is crazy.
PIERO = I like Portugal, it’s called Saudace, really beautiful, congratulations.
MAN = Thanks guys, good luck. I get in the way, I do the third, what do you say?
We greet Gianluca and Serena.
I + P = Hi, hi everyone.
And here is the comment by Enrico Melozzi published on his Facebook page:
Tonight the song #youaremyeverything that I arranged and produced for @ilvolomusic will be presented at the Eurovision Song Contest @eurovision. An explosive rock-symphonic version, which I’m sure you’ll love. I send a big hug to my dear friend @ gianginoble11 is a big good luck to dear friends @ignazioboschetto @barone_piero for tonight’s performance.
Of course our paths will meet soon, once again.
IL VOLO YOU ARE MY EVERYTHING (GRANDE AMORE)
While Gianluca returns to Montepagano in solitary confinement, Piero and Ignazio begin rehearsals.
Radio 102.5, has a nice interview with Piero and Ignazio in Turin and to Gianluca in Montepagano, here it is.
MAN = They are connected with us, in this moment Ignazio and Pietro (he gets the name wrong) of Il Volo, good morning.
WOMAN = Good morning Ignazio, good morning Piero, hello guys, Il Volo.
IGNAZIO = We are Peter and Paul. (Ignazio tries to point out to the man that Piero’s name is wrong)
WOMAN = Piero and Ignazio, Piero and Ignazio, good morning.
MAN = Ok, are you okay?
IGNAZIO = We are in an unpublished version.
MAN = You have become a duo, but be careful, because from Argentina (as if to say from afar) he is connected with us: Gianluca Ginoble. ❤
WOMAN = Hi Gianluca !!❤
GIANLUCA = From Argentina: mucho gusto !!
MAN = Mucho gusto: Carramba what a surprise. (they recall a very successful program that united people over great distances was called “Carramba what a surprise”)
WOMAN = First question, how are you Gianluca? I see you in great shape.
GIANLUCA = And less badly, if this is Covid, welcome to Covid.
WOMAN = (she and the man begin a sentence together) We can say, excuse a moment, (she turns to her man colleague), we can say one thing: what bad luck Gianluca !!
GIANLUCA = Okay, but look, apart from that I’m sorry to see this situation, then yesterday I ran away suddenly, now I’m at home, here in Abruzzo.
Having to leave the Eurovision stage and leave the boys (Piero and Ignazio) ….
WOMAN = No, oh well ….
GIANLUCA = We didn’t miss the train, the passage (on TV) is the most important thing, but not being able to live this life experience, this strong emotion, in front of 200 million people, is really frustrating. It will strengthen me, I must tell you.
WOMAN = Yes, it will certainly strengthen you, the period is what it is, I have to tell you, but you will be there in some way.
IGNAZIO = But not on stage …
MAN = You stay wider.
IGNAZIO = We are wider.
GIANLUCA = They will be IL VO–. 😁😁 ..
MAN = Actually there are 6 letters, (IL VOLO) so 2 + 2 + 2 -2 the account returns. 😁
But it is an opportunity, let’s say in bad luck as Federica said before…..
WOMAN = Let’s say things as they are!
MAN = ….. to experience augmented reality, correct?
IGNAZIO = Absolutely.
MAN = What did you invent, Ignazio?
IGNAZIO = Later I’ll tell you what we came up with. But also the good fortune of doing Eurovision sitting from the living room, is not for everyone !!
WOMAN = Got it ???
MAN = Gianluca’s luck you mean !!
GIANLUCA = It also happened in 2012, remember?
IGNAZIO = May I?
WOMAN = Go, go, let’s put order.
IGNAZIO = Thanks to the technology of 2022 we were able to make a video and send it behind us, I must say thanks to our production that did a great job and also all of Eurovision’s production.
WOMAN = First with some teenage boys, one of them said:
“Gianluca will be in DAD tonight” (DAD means Distance Learning, used in schools and at work, during Covid)
GIANLUCA = Exactly, I’ll be in DAD.
WOMAN = You do Eurovision in DAD.
GIANLUCA = Damn, it already happened in 2012, there was a very heavy snowfall here in Abruzzo, I remember, in 2012 we were guests of the “The Voice Portugal” program, shot in Portugal in Lisbon, and the boys left without me (I remember that Piero and Ignazio, they departed from Sicily), because due to the snow, I could not leave.
So this is the second time they sing without me!
IGNAZIO = The snowfall of 2012 was also unpredictable!
WOMAN = That’s it. Listen, can you tell me how things unfolded yesterday? Have you taken the control ordinance test?
GIANLUCA = I took the test before leaving, the day before yesterday, and it was negative.
I arrive in Turin, I take the flight from Rome, I land and we do the test as soon as we arrive at the sports hall and unfortunately they tell me that I was POSITIVE.
I had to run away, immediately and go home.
MAN = But we see you well, you are fine, and therefore apart from the slightly palled eye (tired), but I think that is more for the anger than for the Covid ….
GIANLUCA = Oh yes.
Pietro (the name is still wrong), we didn’t hear you.
PIERO = I listened.
IGNAZIO = Why do you call him Pietro, understood? He is Piero.
MAN = Oh, sorry, yes Piero sorry, but is it Piero as a first name or is it Pietro?
PIERO = I am Piero by baptism.
MAN = So I was really wrong (finally got it) sorry!
PIERO = I was interested in these moments, I’m happy to show how deep our relationship is.
When the (positive) news arrived, the common thought of all three was this:
“Guys, it doesn’t matter what is happening, the important thing is to bring this step home, bring this event home.” It could have happened to each of us three, we are in a rather delicate period and therefore, in this situation, yes ok , as Ignazio says technology in 2022, but if there is no common goal, that is to carry forward our name, IL VOLO, and bring home such an important passage, music, such an important message, we could not have done it. Yes, the technicians did a great job, but the priority there is our relationship, our common goal, which is our strength.
WOMAN = Exactly, this is very true and in any case it is news and tonight everyone will be waiting to see what you have invented and in the end you always have to look at the glass half full, see the positive side of things, as far as situations are concerned, clearly not like this in the specific, which in the end, as you can see, is resolved, but like the one that the world has experienced in these two years.
Listen, by the way you will bring the new version of Grande Amore.
PIERO = Yes, we contacted our friend Enrico Melozzi, you know we are always used to hearing the classic version of Grande Amore, it’s not easy to make another version, you know it’s really difficult to do a good job ….
WOMAN = Let’s do something, Piero, let’s hear it and then comment on it together, so let’s give a preview of what will happen tonight?
PIERO = Sure, go!
WOMAN = YOU ARE MY EVERYTHING, listen here, guitars instead of violins, what came out ….. (the new version of Grande Amore starts, but in the video you can hear only the beginning )
MAN = Standing ovation for Il Volo !!
WOMAN = Guys what a bomb !!
MAN = Strong, strong. Strong this version.
PIERO = I wanted to say that it is an important day today, because it is the birthday of our manager, Michele Torpedine.
MAN = Happy Birthday, hi Michele !!
WOMAN = Michele, greetings Mik.
IGNAZIO = Despite turning 170, he looks a little less.
WOMAN = That’s right, hi Mik, can we reveal that we once pretended on TV that we were husband and wife?
PIERO = Federica says you pretended to be husband and wife on social media.
TORPEDINE = It’s true, it’s true !!
WOMAN = Okay, these were the altars (little secrets) for an episode recorded one evening a few years ago.
Guys, this new version is cool.
PIERO = Enrico Melozzi did a really great job, because when we heard his idea, the rearranged song, we were surprised, and that’s what we were looking for, I really mean it. Well done.
WOMAN = Really beautiful!
GIANLUCA = And then from a charge, especially singing it on the Eurovision stage, we can’t wait to perform and we will give our best to try to surprise and excite people.😁
PIERO = This joke is beautiful Gianluca !!😁
MAN = Yes, this joke is beautiful! Fantastic. (laughter) 😁😁😁
Anyway you will be there and it will be exciting to listen to you again tonight.
PIERO = Let’s play down …
GIANLUCA = It will be wonderful guys !!
MAN = So, counting, Gianluca, if you tested positive yesterday, now for the next 10 days you will be out of order, so how are you planning for the start of the tour?
GIANLUCA = Actually, there was also a concert in Barcelona.
WOMAN = Yes, Sunday.
MAN = Indeed.
GIANLUCA = Oh yes, we have also postponed the concert in Barcelona, then in any case the tour starts in June from the Verona Arena, 3 and 4 June there are two concerts in the Arena, then at the Ancient Theater of Taormina, we will continue in July the concerts in Europe and then we will go to Japan, September and October the US and Canada and then Australia, so it will be a busy schedule.
PIERO = Besides Verona and Taormina we will do many other concerts in Italy, Torre del Lago, Agrigento …
WOMAN = At that point Gianluca will be immunized, he will have antibodies.
MAN = Only skip Barcelona, sorry for Spanish friends, but it will recover …
PIERO = It will be rescheduled anyway …
MAN = It will be reprogrammed and, as we have heard, you will still be our flag bearers.
GIANLUCA = We will come to see you in the studio very soon.
MAN = We look forward to seeing you
GIANLUCA = Not in these 10 days, obviously.😁
WOMAN = No, later, later.
MAN = Maybe even earlier, it depends a little on the contagion, but seeing yourself like this, you are very well, in my opinion already in a couple of days you negativize yourself.
WOMAN = Otherwise let’s put Gianluca’s augmented reality here in the studio too.
MAN = Okay, thanks guys, good evening for tonight.
We are sure it will be a great return for you to the Eurovision Song Contest stage. Thanks to Il Volo!
WOMAN = Bye guys, good luck.
MAN = Bye Piero, bye Ignazio, bye Gianluca, bye thanks.
After the performance of the evening, Gianluca from home wrote to Piero and Ignazio on Twitter:
Last night you were simply spectacular. ❤
The gift of ubiquity is the new symptom. I had proof of that at Eurovision tonight! Il Volo, you have triumphed! I was there with you!
And now let’s enjoy the beautiful photos of the evening.
It goes without saying that the video of Il Volo, published on the ESC Facebook page, had many shares and as many comments and all of people who remembered Il Volo 7 years earlier with great affection and remembered well the missed victory and the beautiful song.
Very beautiful and affectionate comments from all over Europe and beyond. ❤
Not everyone agrees with the new English version, there are those who prefer the Italian version, but Il Volo was great not to present only an English version, but a bilingual one !!
I’ll spare you some comments from the Italian press, some really bad, but by now we’re used to it, and others more benevolent like this one taken from ZON.it:
“The unexpected of the positivity of Gianluca Ginoble, the baritone of the trio, did not prevent Il Volo from unleashing a riot of applause at the Pala Alpitur in Turin. The world-acclaimed group made Europe vibrate with a version completely new to Grande Amore.
The choice to take the stage despite the unfortunate event was courageous. Two winning weapons: on the one hand the text contaminated by English, on the other the contemporary arrangement, a symphonic rock that bears the signature of the maestro Enrico Melozzi. Vote 9.
I want to conclude this participation in ESC 2022 with two short videos, shot in the audience, while Il Volo performed on stage, this testifying to the fans’ GRANDE AMORE for IL VOLO. ❤❤❤
Every Saturday morning, I sit at my desk and think about what I will write about this week! Since we’re closing in on Christmas, I thought maybe I should start a little earlier this week!
My first thought was last year’s Christmas message was amazing! Not because I wrote it but because of the people who helped me write it! Two wonderful friends! Our special little nonna, Maura Pucci and Giovanni Granaro local historian and my go to man in Naro. Over ten thousand fans responded to the story! It gave us a look at the different Italian traditions and an insight into our guy’s Christmas. So, I thought maybe I should republish the article but with a few new and interesting facts added.
But before we relive the story let me tell you what the story told us about each of the guys. It showed their different traditions based on the region they came from but, they do have one tradition in common and they share that tradition with Italians all over the world. It is the Feast of Seven Fishes that is celebrated on Christmas Eve. In Italy, the meal is known as Festa Dei Sette Pesci (the Feast of Seven Fish), or, more simply, La Vigilia. Now let me add some say the meal should include twelve fish. Why? Seven fish for the seven days it took to create the world or twelve fish for the twelve apostles. The number of fish is not as important as the feast, or La Vigilia, itself. This is a tradition that goes back to ancient times in the Church. Before a great feast day, it was important to fast to prepare for the feast. So, everyone abstained from meat, thus everyone ate fish.
In the early 1900’s when Italian immigrants came to America, they brought this tradition with them. This allowed them to rekindle the old country’s Christmas Eve tradition so they would feel close to their homes and the families they left behind. Today, it’s considered one of the oldest Italian traditions because most Italians still keep the tradition! I certainly do!
So, without further ado, let’s join Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca for Christmas with Our Italian Family
Yes, Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca are our family! Why do I call them family? We’re their fans, yes but, we are more than fans. We certainly do all the things that fans do but it goes deeper than that because our guys are different than any other entertainers. The difference is the guys think of us as their extended family because they grew up with us. They spend more time with us than they do with their families. And they show us their love in everything they do. Think of how they treat us! When you meet them, they embrace you. Most entertainers just want your praise and accolades. Not our guys! They want to know about us! They ask about our lives and our families. They listen to us and do things to please us. And think about how you spent your last twenty-one months listening to their music and feeling secure with every song! So, what is family? Family are the people who are there when you need them. When you’re sad you can always feel their love and their encouragement! Family is not just blood it’s the people who are there for us!
So, let’s take a look at how our Italian family spends their Christmas.
The Christmas season starts in Italy on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary which is also a holiday in Italy. This is the day that many Italians put up their Christmas trees and the cities light up their streets with colored lights. Why? Because Mary is the mother of the Light, Jesus! But there are other traditions that are celebrated on this day!
Let’s go to Naro, Piero’s city, to see how they open the Christmas season.
Every year, on the 7th, 8th and 9th of December, every inhabitant in Naro stocks up on muffuletti. Muffuletti is a bread which is stuffed with meat and vegetables. Some people go to their local baker to buy them, and some people prepare them at home. The tradition is linked to religion. Naro’s sandwiches are blessed and distributed in Churches at the end of the Mass on the feast day of the Immaculate Conception. The bakers donate the muffuletti to the Churches as a gesture of generosity towards their fellow countrymen but, above all, of love towards “a bedda matri ‘Mmaculata”, the Most Holy Immaculate.
During the month of December, the Christmas markets are held in Naro. The Fair is set up inside the cloister of the Town Hall. Many people go to the Franciscan cloister where, every evening, to the delight of the children, there is a special snowfall that whitens the baroque courtyard. On the final evening there is a concert of Sicilian folk music, and an award is given for the best photo taken at the large Christmas tree in Piazza Garibaldi.
During this magical period the streets are colored by many Christmas lights, and everyone visits the living nativity scene of Borgo Castello. There is Mass on Christmas Eve and between hugs, kisses and best wishes there are a thousand good intentions. And then, on Christmas day, the family gathers together for a dinner laden with many local delicacies.
And what would Piero do on Christmas day? Most likely, he will walk around Naro and visit some older people and his friends. He certainly would have decorated his home so I’m sure he will make a video for all of us to see. He will most likely sing at the Christmas Eve or Christmas Day Mass. And I’m sure he will spend time singing with his grandfather, Pietro. Most importantly, he will spend the day with his family!
Christmas in Bologna! How does Ignazio celebrate Christmas?
Unlike Piero and Gianluca, Ignazio and his family live in a big city and like cities in America there are many events.
The Christmas tradition in Bologna has deep roots. The Bolognese Nativity Scene (Presepe) goes back to the Middle Ages. The tradition of the Presepe dates back to the 13th century and one of the oldest Presepe in the world is preserved in Bologna. What makes the Bolognese Nativity different? It is life size and includes clothes that are different from the traditional Neapolitan style. They are dressed in a medieval style. In Porretta Terme in the Emilian Apennines another Presepe which is one of the oldest Presepe in the world is kept in the church of Capugnano.
I’m sure Ignazio will visit the Christmas Tree in Piazza Nettuno. It is a Bolognese tradition. The beautiful tree is a welcoming and bright place to meet friends and feel the warmth of Christmas.
So, what will Ignazio’s family eat on Christmas? I’m sure on Christmas Eve there will be fish on the table. This is the tradition in every Italian house on “La Vigilia,” Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day, there is another tradition. Lunch is the main meal and Pasta in brodo (pasta in broth) will certainly be served. In Bologna, it’s all about meat-filled tortellini in capon broth. These, small, Tortellini, are filled with a mixture of meat, mortadella and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese but you will find in Bologna every family has its secret ingredient for them. You’ll recall in an interview Ignazio mentioned his family buying Tortellini every Sunday.
The soup will most likely be followed by a roast and the meal will end with a traditional dessert like Certosino (or Pan speziale) which is made with almonds, pine nuts, dark chocolate and candied fruits. The recipe has its origin in the Middle Ages where Certosino was produced by pharmacists and later by Certosini Friars. Certosino is very popular in Bologna.
I know the part of the meal that Ignazio will like the best is the dessert! A dessert he will share with his family to celebrate Christmas Day!
There is one Sicilian tradition that I did not talk about last year and since we have two Sicilian men in the group, I think it is important to include it in the article.
For many in Sicily, the Christmas season starts on the Feast of Santa Lucia. In some regions of Sicily, the feast day is celebrated with Cuccia. The word itself is Sicilian. Cuccìa is typically made with wheat berries, ricotta and sugar. How did this tradition come to be?
In the winter of 1646, Sicily was undergoing a terrible famine. People were dying of hunger after a massive crop failure. The people of Palermo did the only thing they could in the circumstances: they prayed. And then on the morning of December 13th a ship full of grain arrived in Palermo harbor with enough grain to feed the whole city. Rather than wait to have the grain milled into flour to make bread, the hungry people boiled and ate the grain to satisfy their hunger and save their lives. The people were convinced that Santa Lucia (St. Lucy), Sicily’s most important saint had saved the city, since the grain arrived on her feast day.
I’m not sure if Piero and Ignazio’s family make Cuccia or eat it but I’m sure they know the tradition.
So, now let’s talk about Gianluca’s Christmas!
A Montepagano tradition is the Nativity scene. At the end of the last century a famous living Nativity play was started in Montepagano which is a real theatrical performance, with a director and a narrator.
In the Abruzzi region, there is a tradition that bagpipers, so called zampognari come into the towns and play their flutes and bagpipes for the people. They symbolize the shepherds who come in search of the newborn baby, Jesus. The bagpipers were once shepherds, today they are musicians who walk the streets of the cities, playing Christmas music. Often, they are in pairs, and one plays the zampognari (bagpipe) and the other the ciaramella (which is similar to a small piccolo).
For certain Gianluca will celebrate December 24th, Christmas Eve with a meal of fish including shellfish because he lives by the sea. As far as food traditions are concerned, on Christmas Day, the typical dish of the whole region of Abruzzo is spaghetti alla chitarra (which is prepared on a particular instrument called a guitar, because it is made of wood with metal strings) but most likely Gianluca will eat Lasagna. The second course will be arrosticini, which are pieces of meat, traditionally lamb, strung on long sticks, similar to a kebab. And for dessert, they will most likely have the traditional Christmas cake, Panettone.
Gianluca will surely spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with his family including his Grandpa Ernesto!
As you know my mother is Abruzzese and I must say, Gianluca’s Christmas is very similar my Christmas.
If you’re wondering where Santa Claus is, in Italy he is known as “Babbo Natale,” Father Christmas, who brings presents to children on Christmas Eve but, in true Italian tradition, gifts were exchanged on January 6th the day of Epiphany when La Befana comes to Italian homes in search of the Christ Child and leaves gifts for the children. This is a tradition that is celebrated in the central regions of Italy. La Befana is an old woman, with a hooked nose, badly dressed, with a handkerchief on her head, grumpy but good, she is not a witch. On January 6th, riding through the sky, flying on a broom, La Befana lands on the roofs, enters the houses from the chimneys and descends from the fireplace, leaving gifts and sweets in the big socks that the children place in front of the fireplace. If they were good, they get sweets. If they were bad, she leaves coal in the form of a sweet black candy. I’m sure there will be many sweets for Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca! No coal for our guys!
I would like to mention an important member of Il Volo’s family. Michele Torpedine! His family is originally from the region of Puglia. He moved to Bologna when he was twelve years old. So, he will celebrate Christmas with his family and the celebration would be similar to Ignazio’s!
Again, I would like to thank the two people who contributed to this Christmas story. Maura Pucci and Giovanni Granaro. Their knowledge of the regions of Montepagano and Naro and the different Christmas traditions made this story come to life!
Susan Daniela Pat
In closing, I would like to thank my team at Flight Crew! The two ladies who make all my stories come to life! Daniela Perani (a/k/a Sherlock Holmes) who is my second pair of eyes and provides all the photos and videos for my stories and Patricia Ward who does the layouts for the stories.
I want to wish all of my Christian friends a Merry Christmas and all my Jewish friends a Happy Chanukah! And all my other friends, All the Happiness and Joy of the Season!
And finally, I’m sure you would love to join me in wishing Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca and their families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year with many Concerts!
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure!
Gianluca is very different from Piero and Ignazio. He had a calm and peaceful childhood. He didn’t have the challenges that Ignazio had or the intense classical education that Piero had. No, Gianluca lived a very simple life. Perhaps that explains why Gianluca is a romantic. With him, everything is about passion! Like his passion for Abruzzo which he takes around the world. On tour he always speaks about Abruzzo. He loves his country and, he wants others to love it too! I agree with Gianluca, Abruzzo is an amazing place. My maternal grandparents were from Abruzzo!
Gianluca’s life began in the small town of Montepagano where he lived a simple life but, when he emerged, he began a journey that would take him around the world and through his amazing voice would leave his mark in every corner of that world.
Let’s listen to how Gianluca describes the town he grew up in:
To be precise, I grew up, in Montepagano, on a hill two hundred meters as the crow flies and ten minutes by road from the sea, and Roseto degli Abruzzi.
The accents are beautiful, the dialects are beautiful, but I can say that what I prefer is the Abruzzese? I am, very, proud to be from Abruzzo. I love everything about this region. And I like to bring Abruzzo around the world and keep it high.
I am right at the sea. I’m relaxing, I’m calm! There is a sea breeze and nothing else. It’s Thursday and I am practically alone on the beach. I’m fine, from God! I’m fine because I’m home.
When Gianluca goes home to Abruzzo, he feels like he is on vacation. Montepagano is a very beautiful town. It sits at the top of a hill facing the Adriatic Sea. It is like a picture-perfect postcard! It’s no wonder Gianluca is at peace here. Montepagano is Gianluca’s paradise.
If you ask Gianluca about this paradise and how he spent his childhood there he will tell you, “My life as a child seems so far away. I remember, very, little of my childhood! It’s like twenty years have passed but, only five have passed. I’m not like Ignazio I was born and raised in Montepagano. I was traveling only with dreams. What made me dream? Music naturally.”
And, so, we come to perhaps Gianluca’s greatest passion, Music! Or let’s say our greatest passion about Gianluca, his music!
As you know, Gianluca’s mother worked, so, he went to after-school session with the nuns. He had a teacher named Gabriella. One afternoon, while Gianluca was doing homework, he suddenly got up and started singing “Time to Say Goodbye.” The teacher was speechless. “What a voice you have, what a wonderful voice,” she told Gianluca. “But do you know Andrea Bocelli?” She could not believe how it was possible for such a small child to have such a voice and to know a singer of that kind. “Of course, I know him,” Gianluca said, “he’s my idol, my favorite singer,” Gianluca said this with a certain pride. “Only I do not have his CD yet.” “I’ll bring it to you tomorrow, I’ll gift it to you” was the teacher’s answer. “I was seven, maybe eight years old and thanks to Gabriella I was able to start listening to Andrea Bocelli as often as I wanted.”
Yes, this was Gianluca’s passion as a young boy to sing Bocelli songs. And he sang them all the time. But it was music itself that motived Gianluca. In an interview with the “Rosetana Star” Gianluca said: “Music for me is the oxygen of my life.”
And it wasn’t just Bocelli as Gianluca will tell you. “As I grew older, I became more passionate about singing, including the great American classics, first of all Frank Sinatra.”
So, let’s turn to the Voice! Sinatra was known as the Voice. But I think Sinatra would be in awe of Gianluca. Love you Frank but Gianluca’s got this one!
Gianluca is known as the Velvet Voice!
I don’t who coined the phrase but, that is right on. Let’s use our senses to understand what that means. Take a piece of velvet and hold it in your hand. Now take your other hand and gently pass your hand across the velvet. What do you feel? You feel a smooth even surface that is crisp with no breaks in it. The sensation is so good that you automatically go back and do it again. And every time it’s the same. It’s pleasing!
Now take Gianluca’s voice, let the notes pass into your ears, what do you hear? A crisp, smooth, even voice with no breaks in it. The note barely passes into your ear and, you are going back for the next note. It’s always pleasing!
Gianluca is a lyrical baritone. He is exceptional because he can sing from the lowest to the highest note in the baritone range. Most baritones are limited in range. Gianluca’s voice is huge. He has a very rich chest resonance which creates a feeling of depth and drama in his voice.
A baritone’s voice is very romantic, very pleasing to listen to and is always inviting. Most songs are written for baritones. Gianluca starts, almost, every song. Why? In order for a song to be received well you must draw your audience into it. Gianluca’s voice draws you in in a romantic way and you hang on to every note. He can mesmerize you with songs like “Mi Mancherai” where he reaches into the depth of his being and yours. His interpretation of “Surrender” is electrifying. But, when Gianluca sings, “She’s Always a Woman”, he takes your breath away. The highs, the lows, the emotion, the expression. His voice expands like nothing I ever heard before. He has total command of the song. You walk away with your senses lifted to another level.
So, let’s turn to how Gianluca got to where he is today! To do this I need to introduce you to the Zecchino d’oro .
Why the Zecchino d’oro or perhaps you’re saying what is the Zecchino d’oro?
I was first introduced to the Zecchino d’orolast November when an article came out saying the Zecchino d’oro will be postponed due to Covid 19. The presenters of the year would be Mara Venier and Carlo Conti.
When I read this article, I immediately thought of Gianluca. So, what is the Zecchino d’oro and what does it have to do with Gianluca?
The Zecchino d’oro is an Italian tradition. It is an event for kids, and it is dedicated to them and to all the adults who still feel like kids.
This show is presented every year between late November and the beginning of December.
In Italy there are magical days, when it starts to get cold, and children stay in their warm homes. It’s not Christmas, but the period that precedes it when the famous Zecchino d’oro TV show is broadcast. It has been broadcast every year, for decades. It was established in 1959 by Cino Tortorella who was the good presenter who introduced the children on stage, disguised as Mago Zurlì. He was so loved by all children.
The Zecchino d’oro is the festival of the little ones. In fact, if the Sanremo Festival is aimed at adult audiences and the songs are interpreted by adults, the Zecchino d’oro is made for children, with songs tailored for children.
The songs may seem like simple songs but, they are actually much more. Special attention is given to the songs’ texts. The themes are about tolerance and peace. And this is confirmed by the expression of the event: “In this contest, the winner is not the child who sings, but the song that is sung!”
Father Berardo Rossi, one of the founders, discovered by chance, a girl who used to teach the children of his parish and organize events. Mariele Ventre, who was 22 years old, had just graduated from the Verdi Conservatory in Milan and was on her way to a promising concert career. She said yes to Fr. Rossi’s proposal and the adventure began.
Mariele liked the name Zecchino because it refers to the gold coin in the field of miracles of Collodi’s Pinocchio and thus it was called Zecchino d’oro. She founded the Piccolo Coro two years later, an institution that she would direct passionately for thirty years, until the last day before she died on December 16, 1995. Upon her death the Piccolo Coro dell’Antoniano, was renamed Piccolo Coro for Mariele.
Zecchino d’oro, however, is not only music and entertainment, but it has also been carrying out voluntary initiatives by raising funds to build schools, hospitals, orphanages, with projects all over the world, to help the less fortunate live better lives.
In 2008, the Zecchino d’oro received an amazing recognition from UNESCO, becoming a world heritage for a culture of peace: the first TV show in the world to receive such a prestigious award.
This year the images were to be reassuring to Italy. The country had the strength to bet on good feelings and a strong idea of safeguarding children.
Though you may not know this show in America, we can relate to one of the characters, Topo Gigio, the puppet created by Maria Perego. Topo Gigio landed in America many years ago on the legendary Ed Sullivan Show. For those of you who are not old enough to remember Topo Gigio, let me say we waited every week for his appearance on the show. For us kids and the adults he became a household name. Seems hard to believe that this little mouse stole the hearts of the American people.
So where does Gianluca fit into all of this? If it wasn’t for the Piccolo Choir of Roses which was inspired by the Zecchino d’oro, Gianluca may not have been discovered.
Gianluca was a member of the Piccolo Choir of Roses which is one of the local branches of this choir. The Mago Zurlì, who was the presenter of the event when Gianluca was in the Choir, was Gianluca’s father, Ercole Ginoble.
But, let me let Gianluca tell you how this all came to be….
When I sing, I don’t forget instinct. What does that mean? As I said, I have never studied singing. I learned to “use” my voice only thanks to my musical ear. I listened to the music and, it transmits everything I know. And I especially thank the Little Choir of Roses.
When I was about eight or nine, all those who knew my voice gave me the same advice: go sing in a choir. In Roseto there was the Piccolo Choir of Roses directed by the master Susy Paola Rizzo. They sang the songs of the “Zecchino d’oro” or other famous songs with arrangements in that style, with music for children. The Mago Zurlì, that was the presenter of the event, was my father. He had been for a couple of seasons.
This is where I started. It was nice because we studied the songs throughout the winter season, not the technique of singing, the songs. It was different, because we did not study the notes and how to do them, rather we studied instinctively, following what the teacher said and what our ear heard.
Then, in the summer, we demonstrated our work in the Municipality of Roseto. We sang in the squares during the local festivals, in the lidos, in the bathing establishments, around the whole of Abruzzo, all these tiny villages.
During the performances with the choir, besides the repertoire of the Zecchino d’oro, we sang the songs of Bocelli: Misere, Il Mare Calmo Della Sera, La Voce Del SilenzIo.
Of course, the greatest achievement for Gianluca and the guys was winning Sanremo! We know that it was Gianluca who convinced the guys to go to Sanremo! Or rather Gianluca convinced Piero who convinced Ignazio. And, in the end, Gianluca sums up Sanremo and the events that follow in this way!
The truth is that I was right from the beginning and, no one has ever listened to me, ever. I believed it so much that, if you notice, maybe I’m the one with the least surprised look when Carlo Conti announces the winner. Then, of those moments, one remembers little, there is great confusion, emotion. It was a dream to be able to shout, “Thank you, Italy!” from that stage. I looked at Sanremo as a child, when there was Pippo Baudo, and I was there and have won because people were on our side and it was a dream, I repeat even if I have already said. The emotion was only when my grandfather told me almost in tears: ‘Who would have told me that in my life I would see Modugno win at the Festival and then I see you win.’
On Sunday evening, when I returned to Montepagano, I found th whole village in a party, not just my grandfather: my countrymen were waiting for me from the morning to celebrate. There really was everyone, including the mayor. And then, the journalists, the local TV and a crowd of people who we could not count.
Another of the beautiful things that came after San Remo was the chance to meet the children of the Agbe, the Association of Parents of the Emopatic Children, of Pescara.
It is a reality born in 2000 from the idea of a group of parents, in fact, with children from the hemopaths treated at the Santo Spirito hospital in the city. The purpose of the association is to give support in every way to the children and families during and after the period of treatment. An initiative that, for those like me and very sensitive to the problems of health of children, and really beautiful.
The thing that honors me a lot and that, inspired by my story with Ti Lascio Una Canzone, they thought to have the children dedicate to singing, so they organize a Christmas show every year that keeps them very busy and also a lot of fun. But at Agbe they would never have thought we would meet.
Instead, after the Festival I went to see them, all young patients from 4 to 15 years, and I invited them to our concert of Il Volo Live 2015 in Chieti because I knew that Piero and Ignazio would have been happy to meet them. And, so, it was: they came, they had fun and we spent time together taking pictures and signing autographs.
But Gianluca is about emotions too! And many things that happened after Sanremo were emotional for Gianluca! Like Gianluca receiving a prize for bringing Abruzzo around the world. Let’s listen to Gianluca talk about the emotion of winning this prize.
When I talk about emotions that arrived after Sanremo, I cannot forget what it meant to receive a prize like Abruzzese that gives prestige to its region in the world.
Every year on August 5th is celebrated the Day of Abruzzesi in the world, a day set up with a regional law to remember all the emigrants. On that day five ambassadors of Abruzzo are appointed in the world, that is, Abruzzesi who have come out of the regional boundaries for different reasons and give prestige to their region.
For example, they awarded a university lecturer, a cardiologist, the founder of a cultural association, an entrepreneur and a successful executive. The ceremony, which has a different location every year, was held in the Fortress of Civitalla del Tronto, a village that is a jewel of the province of Teramo, right on the border with the Marches.
I, however, am still in Abruzzo and therefore I cannot be appointed ambassador according to regional regulations, I was awarded with a beautiful statuette that replicates the warrior Capestrano, for having brought the name of my land around the world.
I cannot tell you what a feeling it is to receive from the regional Presidency the cultural symbol of my region. The original of the warrior stands in the National Archaeological Museum, more than two meters tall, of limestone, with a large disk helmet that looks like a hat. You see it for sure. And it is one of the things I’m most proud of.
In short, Sanremo was just a dream that brought us many different emotions.
Gianluca has a heart of gold! It’s always about helping others whether through his generosity or his love of his country! That’s just how Gianluca is. He has his hand in everything and reaches it out to those who need it!
But it seems I digressed!
So now, let me go back and sum up Gianluca’s musical career! Although Gianluca never studied music he did develop a musical ear and instinct and as a member of the Piccolo Choir of Roses and his performances around Abruzzo, he was discovered by Licia Giunco who brought Gianluca to Rome to audition for Ti Lascio Una Canzone. The rest of the story is history!
And as a result of this, Gianluca Shares His Amazing Voice with people all over the world!
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure!
