Death of Franco Battiato, beloved Sicilian singer-songwriter

  CATANIA - The beloved Sicilian singer, songwriter and composer Franco Battiato has died aged 76. He was found dead on Tuesday in his house in Milo, where he had lived in retirement for some time, suffering in his later years from a neurodegenerative disease.

  Battiato was best known for songs such as ‘La Cura’ (The Care), ‘Centro Di Gravità Permanente’ (Permanent Centre of Gravity) and ‘Voglio Vederti Danzare’ (I Want To See You Dance), and the album ‘La Voce Del Padrone’ (The Voice Of The Godfather), which, in 1981, was the first Italian album to sell over a million copies.

  Over his long career he crossed several different genres, including new wave, synthpop, psychedelic and jazz, and was a mainstay on the Italian music scene, releasing almost an album a year from 1971 to 2009. In 1984 he represented Italy at Eurovision, with his long-time collaborator Alice.

  Battiato was born in 1945 in Ionia, and grew up in Sicily before moving to mainland Italy after school to pursue a career in music. He had some modest success in the late 1960s with romantic pop songs such as ‘La Torre’ and ‘È L’amore’ before becoming more interested in experimental electronic music in the 1970s.

  Citing ‘La Cura’, former Prime Minister Enrico Letta wrote on Twitter, “‘I’ll take care of you.’ For me the most beautiful with the simplest and strongest words. Thanks for all the emotions you have given us.”

  Culture Minister, Dario Franceschini, wrote on Twitter, “A Maestro has left us. One of the greatest Italian songwriters. Unique, inimitable, always searching for new artistic expression. He leaves an eternal legacy.”

  Known for his hundreds of unforgettable pop songs, with a deeper meaning, that infiltrated households throughout Italy, his death has flooded social media with thousands of heartfelt tributes to the musical legend.

  Franco Battiato was born on March 23, 1945, in Ionia, Sicily and died May 18, 2021, in Milo, Sicily, aged 76.

 

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Franco Battiato with Alice