This week we will explore Ignazio’s flight through childhood. Let me start by saying each one of the guys is unique in how he presents his story in this book, “Il Volo, Un’avventura Straordinario, La Nostra Storia.” Ignazio chose to write his story. He comes in and out of the story speaking to the reader and asking questions. He is an excellent writer. He articulates very well in English and Italian and that is why it was so easy for me to write his story.
(Listen to this video! Ignazio is thirteen years old and totally amazing! Mr. Perfection!)
All the Italics in this story are Ignazio’s own words. I did not change the thoughts or feelings of Ignazio or any of the guys in any of their stories. It’s all in their own words. As I said in Piero’s story, I’m relating the story as seen through my eyes. In My Flight, as the narrator, Ignazio gives us the facts and I follow him by giving you information that is important to the story and makes for a better narrative.
As I said before, when I write about the guys I always tell you how I relate to each guy in his story. At the end of Ignazio’s story, I will tell you how I related to him in this story!
This is a very sensitive and sincere story! Ignazio is a very sensitive and sincere person and his kindness and compassion come through in his words and feelings in his account of his life. At times it can be a very emotional journey and you will find yourself full of emotions as you follow along! Grab those tissues, fasten your seat belts and let us embark on Ignazio’s Flight….
If life is a story and if every story needs someone to tell it, here I am to tell you mine, all of it from the beginning.
My story is not a fictional story even if it seems to be one of those dreams that you never want to wake up from. My story is sincere. It is the story of my life just as I experienced it before Il Volo and inside Il Volo.
My Flight (every reference is purely coincidental) starts with a Christmas Letter.
It seems Ignazio’s mother, Caterina, and his father, Vito, were thinking about expanding their family. It is Christmas time 1993. Ignazio’s sister Antonia, who everyone calls Nina, is at school and the children are told to write a letter to Santa and the Baby Jesus. What Nina writes is a miracle and the beginning of one of the most beautiful and sincere relationships between a brother and sister. Nina, 7 years old, writes:
Dear Santa and Baby Jesus,
I do not want any presents for Christmas. Give my gifts to poor children. I want a baby brother for Christmas.
Nina
Ignazio continues, Said and done!
Shortly after New Year’s Caterina discovers she is pregnant. When Nina is told she wants to confirm that her request has come true. Nina asks her mother if she can join her for her first ultrasound. During the checkup, Nina asks the doctor, “May I know what it is?”
“What do you want, honey?” the doctor asks.
“I want a little brother.”
“Then come, I’ll show you the string bean.”
Nina’s first wish is granted but her second wish, not exactly! Nina wants her brother to be born on October 1st, her birthday. It seems Ignazio had another idea.
My name is Ignazio Boschetto. I was born on October 4, 1994, in Bologna, Italy.
No, I didn’t make it for Nina’s birthday. I was wrong. What can I tell you? When they brought me home, I was better than any doll to Nina. Everyone was happy but soon, there were some worries. During the first visit, the doctor found that I had a strange kidney malfunction. After several checkups, they found I was born with a single kidney, but the one kidney I had was larger than normal and it works as if it were two kidneys.
And, as if that wasn’t enough, I was born with the squint of Venus, but I was fine, a Bolognese, brand new. The truth is, I could have been born Sicilian – Sienese. How would you see me with a Tuscan accent?
Is it the same if the images that I will never forget are … the memories of my parents? It’s not that I’m crazy or strange, it’s right that my story would never have existed without my parents.
I needed to put this break in the story to present something amazing!
He had it then, he has it now….and forever!
I really wanted to present 2008 alongside 2023. If ever there was a phenomenal collaboration this was it! Two of the greatest tenors in the world are interwoven to present Allegri’s Miserere. They say heavenly voices are needed to properly present this Hymn. Well, these certainly are heavenly voices! They are the voices of men who are legends in their own time! They call Miserere “the stuff of legends.” Ignazio and Piero were brought together for a unique presentation of Miserere. Their presentation is very unique, very touching, very emotional and always brings down the house. It brought me to tears in Athens! Totally amazing!
Back to the story….
In 1990 when Nina was four years old and before Ignazio was born, his parents made the decision to leave Marsala. They left with the hope of a better life for their family. As Ignazio says…. The family they had only begun to create. Things were not going well in Marsala, and it was difficult to make a living for a family. They decided to go to Siena because a good friend of Ignazio’s maternal grandfather, who was a building contractor, offered Mr. Boschetto a job. Ignazio’s parents would do anything to make the family’s life better.
Ignazio says…. Of the sacrifices they have made, there were many and big for me and for my sister, I do not spend a day when I do not think about how proud I am of them.
When they went to Buoncovento, Mr. Boschetto worked as a mason. Mrs. Boschetto did many different jobs.
By 1992 the Boschetto’s realized they didn’t earn enough to keep going. During a visit to a cousin’s house, Mr. Boschetto met an old friend who made him aware of a job opportunity in San Martino on Agrine near Bologna. So, the decision was made to move to San Martine on Agrine. And Ignazio would say….That’s why I was born in Bologna.
Upon arrival, Mr. Boschetto, being a mason, immediately found a job. Mrs. Boschetto. was always a determined person who had a great desire to keep busy. She reinvented herself. She was a good cook and she found herself a job as a chef in a restaurant not far from home.
Within a few years they managed to achieve economic stability and decided to move into a house. Finally, a house just for them in Guarda di Molinella. Ignazio says….The house was very small, but it was my first house, the one in which I was born.
By far, Ignazio was the most pampered member of the family. He was a lively child who laughed all the time, Ignazio says….I never stopped laughing. He learned very quickly to talk and walk. He was never silent.
When I was three or four years old, I played with the piano my parents had given Nina. My mother says I was one year old when I played. Nina taught me to play Happy Birthday with one finger. I was a happy child. My mother told me, ‘You’ve never been a child,’ in the sense that I was always quite serious and responsible. I ask you, ‘Would you ever say that?’ In all, I was a happy child. It seemed the situation started getting better. It wasn’t all roses and flowers but in four years it had changed a lot and so the moves were not finished. The moves were always to make a better life for me and Nina. The moves continued even after my birth. When it seemed that we were fine, it was always time to leave.
Of all the houses I lived in, one particular address remains in my mind: Via Marconi 94 in Molinella. It was a big and very beautiful house. We moved there just before I started elementary school.
I do not remember the first day of school, but I certainly did not take long to get noticed. If you’re thinking of scenes of me being put in the middle of the class to sing, forget it. I had a passion for music but, I had an even greater passion for pranks. I tell you, since I started talking and walking, mine was an escalation of agitation. It was official I was not the most mischievous in class that would be my friend Nicholas. I was second. It was always an open challenge, a race to the red crosses. Now the question arises: What are the red crosses? The teachers had a billboard and on it they listed all the students in alphabetical order. If you were good in your school and good in your grades, you got a blue cross, however, if you had taken an insufficiency or if you behaved badly, evil was everywhere! Nicolas and I were the most popular! Our billboard line was a red fire specimen.
With the passage of time, I found something good to do at school, that is, an activity that was able to hold my interest enough to prevent me from slipping into some disaster. I joined the school choir. I always liked to sing, to be ‘in the middle’ of the music. And more and more passionately I began to understand how to make better use of Nina’s famous pianola. I learned how to start the musical bases and flip through them. And that’s when I discovered La Donna È Mobile. I liked it so much that I sang with the bass and invented words. I don’t remember the words but, it certainly was a song about Pavarotti. Having seen Pavarotti on TV, I knew he always had a big handkerchief so I would invent text and sing on the air La Donna È Mobile.
Now I would not want you to get the wrong idea of me as a child. A saint I was not, mind you, but thinking about it now if I was mischievous at school, maybe there was a reason.
Around 1998, when Ignazio was four years old and had just started kindergarten, the climate in the house changed. There was a problem in the family. Ignazio’s mom was diagnosed with cancer. For a child of Ignazio’s age, it was hard to understand what was happening. He realized that something was wrong when he began to see less and less of his mother. She was going back and forth to the hospital for months without finding a solution.
Ignazio said….Mom did something she always did with us, for as long as I can remember, she explained the situation to us, speaking openly. This is a great merit that I must acknowledge about my family, but perhaps a little more to mom, because the fact of speaking clearly with us children and telling us the truth about things that affected our family and life in general taught us to face up to early adult conversations. With mom we always talked about sex, about society, a little bit of everything that life had in store for us as children.
Now, I’m going to step out of the story because there are no words that I can say that will express the emotion and the sensitivity of Ignazio words. So, I chose to have Ignazio talk directly to you
I do not even have to tell you that since my mother’s conversation, my life has changed. I was small, but I could not afford to think like the other children of my age. As for my sister the situation was even more complicated because since 1998, the year of our mother’s first hospitalization, until 2003, the year when all the bad story is over, my mother has become Nina.
For the first two years of elementary school, those dotted with red crosses, I have not often seen mom, a little because I went to school, a little because she had to return frequently to the hospital and stay there for long periods. Dad worked and my sister, despite her twelve years, had to be a housewife. She has become my biggest reference point. We had to grow both of us very quickly, without thinking about toys and different entertainment, and not so to speak, but really. The truth is that we were not interested in anything that usually affects two children of that age, because the only thing we wanted was to have mom at home.
It is difficult to say what the worst moment was because her absence was always felt. For sure, however, I was particularly impressed by a quarrel with my sister. I was four and she was twelve and I was playing with a toy, she was fed up because I made noise, she took the toy, and we had a fight. After responding badly to her, I immediately repented. For me Nina was very important, really like a mother. In the end I did not sleep for a week. But I never told her, at least until now.
After five surgeries and one hundred and fifty points in the face, mom has returned home. Too bad they did not leave me much time to enjoy her. I wanted to sit her on the sofa, and I wanted all the kisses, hugs and everything I hadn’t had in those years. Mom is mine and woe to those who touch her! And instead, a few years earlier, mom had started working in a pizzeria and, not even the time to leave the hospital, she rightly started working again. What could I do?
Most of the time Ignazio stayed with Sabrina, his nanny, who was the girlfriend of the pizza maker who worked with his mom. But there were days when Ignazio was allowed to go to work with his mom. Since Ignazio never wanted to lose sight of his mother again, he would stand by the fridge where the drinks were held and, from there he had a perfect view of the cash desk. At the time, his mother did not work in the kitchen. She was now managing the pizzeria, so most of the time she was at the cash desk or answering the phone. And Ignazio never took his eyes off her. He was so happy that he could talk to her, and he did a good job of selling drinks to the customers.
So, let’s take a look at the situation. Ignazio’s mother is home, the pizzeria has become Ignazio’s second home, he certainly was good at selling drinks and everything seemed to finally be the best it could be.
Ignazio concludes…. at school, then, as I told you, I was part of the choir, and I was more passionate about my music. In short, finally a little tranquility. How long has it lasted? Four years, more or less.
In July 2004 we were on the road again.
So here we are, it’s 2004, Ignazio is 10 years old, and his life is about to take a major turn. La Forza del destino!
So now you understand why I let Ignazio take over this story. He is a brilliant writer, and I couldn’t possibly explain it better than him. My Flight is full of passion and emotion much like Ignazio’s music. My flight, as Ignazio calls it, is one that we can follow through the eyes of four-year-old Ignazio and share a tear with him! This story tells us a lot about how Ignazio was molded into the amazing man he is today!
In Episode Two of Ignazio’s story, we will follow ten-year-old Ignazio to Marsala where he steps on the stage for the first time and embarks on the road to Stardom!
So how do I relate to this story? When I was five years old my mother had a very serious blood disease and I remember how sick she was. I would be so worried that I would never let her leave my sight. In my tiny mind I thought my mother was going to die and each morning when I woke up, I would run into the kitchen to see if she was there. You can’t begin to imagine how happy I was to see her sitting at the table or washing dishes and she would turn and smile at me! The best smiles of my life! Yes, Ignazio, I get it!
Update on Bosky_TV
Join us today, October 25, 2023, at 2:45 PM New York time 8:45 PM Italy time for a new chapter on Bosky TV.
A new music format will start on my TWITCH channel “BoskyTV.”
At The Floki Bar, we will talk about music in 360’, we will hear new emerging artists, new songs and covers from all over the world. Then with various friends, producers and not, we will go on a creative journey together in the production of live songs! We will see you later today! Don’t miss this!!!!
What I have written here are excerpts from the book the guys wrote about their lives. “Il Volo, Un’avventura Straordinario, La Nostra Storia.” (An Extraordinary Adventure, Our Story) This is just a small piece of each mans’ story. The book is written in Italian. If you can read Italian, I would highly recommend that you read it. It’s wonderful! If not, I can only hope that someday it will be translated into English. Or you can use Google Translate to translate it.
I also recommend you read their second book “IL Volo: Quello Che Porto Nel Cuore” (What I Carry in My Heart).
And let’s not forget their album “Tres Voces Un Alma.” Available on Spotify, Amazon, and other music media!
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure! Next time we will explore Gianluca’s beginnings!
If you would like to share a story with me, please email: susan.flightcrew@yahoo.com
To read more Il Volo stories visit us at www.ilvoloflightcrw.com
There’s a lot of news, new and good news every day, but there’s also a nice phone call between Red Ronnie and Piero Barone, which I’ve translated for you!
The video begins with Red Ronnie reading a fan’s request:
FAN= When do you invite Piero Barone from IL VOLO, to bless your show? (Then Red Ronnie takes the cell phone and calls Piero.)
RED RONNIE= Let’s hear from Piero Barone, if he answers me.
Piero Barone (he repeats Piero’s name several times), let’s hear if he answers me, let’s hear from Piero Barone of Il Volo.
Carmen Rosa (that’s the fan’s name), I try to find Piero Barone.
PIERO= (Piero replies to Red) Hello Red.
RED RONNIE= So Piero, you’re live on line!
PIERO= What happened? Who are we on line with?
RED RONNIE= I don’t know, there is a Carme Rosa who writes: “Ronnie, when are you inviting Piero Barone from Il Volo?”
PIERO= (he laughs) Say hello to everyone, right now.
RED RONNIE=Where are you? (He means Il Volo)
PIERO= We are now in Italy, we are preparing for the tour in South America.
RED RONNIE= And when are you leaving?
PIERO= We leave in less than two weeks (this video was made more than a week ago).
RED RONNIE= Ah, wow guys!!
PIERO= We will be away (abroad) for a couple of months.
RED RONNIE= Damn, but things are going well for you, I see you from all sides, you’ve been to America…..
PIERO= This year we are working hard, we had a good tour, now South America is missing, and since it is a fairly demanding tour, we have decided to dedicate the first part of the year to all of South America.
You’ve been there, I guess?
RED RONNIE= Yes, in South America, I’ve been to some countries, Mexico, Guatemala, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile … oh yes, even Colombia.
PIERO= This year we’re going to all these places you mentioned.
RED RONNIE= Wow, that’s cool guys!
PIERO= Yes, yes. Are you okay Red?
RED RONNIE= I’m fine. Listen Piero, a curiosity, ok, you travel the world, but do you have time to enjoy the cities you go to or not?
PIERO= But, it depends. Luckily, I personally have a passion for running, you know I like running marathons, so I take this opportunity to try to combine the two, visiting cities and running. So when I arrive in a city, I go down to the hotel lobby, to the concierge, and I get the itinerary, the route to visit a little, clearly not everything, but in 10 – 15 km you can visit a lot in a city. Then, when you’re on tour, you always have to preserve your voice, and it also depends on the climatic conditions you find in the places. But when we can, we all take the opportunity to visit the cities. This year I have to tell you that I was fascinated by Sydney, Australia, we spent three days there and we got to visit it, it was amazing. Then in South America we already know most of the countries, but clearly they are missing, for example I have never been to the pyramids in Mexico (Machu Picchu), that is one thing I miss, one day I will be able to go, but we have to organize the voyage. When you’re on tour, yes, we can see, but not like real tourists.
RED RONNIE= Well, the pyramids are beautiful, I’ve been there starting from Tolon and I went up, you know, there’s a lot of magic.
Do you know what? I have yet to edit the interview, but I hosted a friend of mine, a Unesco executive, with the director of Machu Picchu.
PIERO= But did you see what happened this year there in Machu Picchu? They had to close and some tourists were locked inside, a very particular thing happened, now I have to look into the matter, but a tour that I would love to do is Machu Picchu, Bolivia, all those strange places … the sea or the lake of salt? There’s that place there, help me…..(he means IL SALAR DE UYUNI in Bolivia).
RED RONNIE= Look Piero, if we organize… apart from that, finding one of Il Volo free is impossible……..but if we organize, we go to Machu Picchu with Unesco and with the director and then we can stay the night where no one can stay.
PIERO= But maybe!!
RED RONNIE= Then there are other sites where tourists cannot go, such as Abiseo (Rio Abiseo- Peru), there are the curanderos (natives of Peru) and we can take a tour like this.
PIERO= Yes, but we have to document them, because ok, tourists can’t go, but we have to show these places.
RED RONNIE= But listen, have you ever seen me without a camera?
PIERO= But, in fact. I was looking at your images these days, when you went to Ireland with Pavarotti to interview U2, you were wearing a yellow jacket, if I’m not mistaken….
RED RONNIE= Exactly!
PIERO= I saw those images, a couple of days ago, and I thought: “But look Red what a great experience, what a great honor he had to be among those people, I remember Pavarotti on your left, by the way you had made the trip with him, and then U2, I shiver just thinking back and imagining what did you try.
RED RONNIE= But think Piero that I had in my program, to tell you the important things…I had an international group that was messing around, they are called Il Volo, I don’t know if you know them.😁😁😁
You think I had them in my program screwing around.
PIERO= (he laughs) But in reality we are like that, you know us. First we went to dinner, then we remembered that we had a program to do….(laughter)
RED RONNIE= Yeah, and think there was some asshole in that group who broke my juke box, and look it’s still broken. 😁 (Red says it with nice and playful irony and laughs, he refers to Ignazio) .
PIERO= Ignazio, Ignazio. I ask you to point this out!!
RED RONNIE= Ok!, but where are you right now? Italy, but where?
PIERO= Right now I’m in Sicily, I’ve come to visit my family.
RED RONNIE= Ah, nice!
PIERO= Because you know, I move according to the climatic conditions, now in Sicily there is an incredible climate, I must tell you that today I also went to the beach, I didn’t swim, but I went to the beach to get some color, some vitamin D.
RED RONNIE= Well look, maybe one day we’ll make a connection since you’re always on the go now.
PIERO= When you want, indeed, I’ll send you some videos from South America.
RED RONNIE= Good, but have you already made the videos, or do you have to?
PIERO= No, now that we go on tour.
RED RONNIE= Well, then make some videos, then maybe I connect with you one evening for me, afternoon for you in South America.
PIERO= Gladly, it’s fine.
RED RONNIE= OK!
PIERO= Write to me whenever you want. Red a big hug, greet me all, indeed I greet all the listeners.
RED RONNIE= Look, everyone here says hello. (Red reads some messages from the PC).
There is a question, “Have you ever seen the Northern Lights?”
PIERO= No, we lack that. Because that is a particular trip that you have to organize in time, there is a period of the year, you have to go with local people, so you know very well how our calendars work, it’s all really complex, it’s complicated to be able to plan this trip. But there are two trips that I would really like to do: one is going to see the Northern Lights, but above all, the trip of my life will be Vietnam-Tibet.
RED RONNIE= Damn!
PIERO= This is something that sooner or later I will do in my life.
RED RONNIE= Well, in Vietnam I have no connections, but in Tibet yes.
PIERO= That is, after me, do you call a Tibetan monk?
RED RONNIE= (He laughs) No, but I have connections with the house of Tibet in Italy, and therefore, maybe we can……let’s see, let’s see….come on, we promise to go on a trip together, I would start from Machu Picchu and Peru, those places there.
PIERO= And go and see the salt lake on the internet…..
RED RONNIE= The salt lake, they wrote it to me first, let me see where they wrote it to me…gosh how many messages….
PIERO= I think it’s in Bolivia.
RED RONNIE= His name is Salar de Uyuni.
PIERO= And where is it?
RED RONNIE= And what do I know, I found out from you.
PIERO= (he laughs) I can’t believe it, I’m sending you images on video because a dear friend of mine went on that trip and sent me photographs, they look like surreal realities.
RED RONNIE= Ok, the Earth is beautiful, we have to defend it, Ok? (Red is a convinced green)
PIERO= Absolutely!! Red big hug.
RED RONNIE= Bye, bye Piero.
PIERO= Good night everyone, bye.
LATEST NEWS
Today, February 17th, as announced by Il Volo, a particular EP of ten songs is being released, completely intended for the public of Spain, Latin America and the United States.
Ten beautiful songs by Latin artists, sung in an excellent way by our Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca.
Here are the titles of the 10 songs:
1 PERDONAME 2 ABRAZAME 3 TAN ENAMORADOS (feat Ricardo Montaner) 4 QUE SERA’ DE TI 5 LA INCONDICIONAL 6 NO ME DIGAS QUE TE VAS 7 OTRAS VIDAS 8 ELLA/SI NOS DEJAN 9 COMO VAI VOCE 10 TAN ENAMORADOS
For those who want to listen to them on Spotify, this is the link:
Furthermore, a new television program on Canale 5 hosted by Michelle Hunziker (she also presented House Party) was announced. The new program is titled: MICHELLE IMPOSSIBLE, Il Volo should be a guest in the episode of Wednesday 22 February, but we will keep you updated.
In addition, new dates continue to be added to the next tour. Yesterday two dates were added in Bulgaria also, and soon our loved ones will leave for the long South American tour.
A really busy schedule, our young men don’t get a moment’s break, and soon, very soon the concerts will start. Who knows which of you will be lucky enough to be able to go and see them…..but don’t forget, whoever goes, let us know your impressions!!
Daniela 🤗
Credit to owners of all photos and videos.
Come in and share the love of life, friends and Il Volo!
