Write Salvetti and read Festivalbar. Andrea, born in Padua in 1967, is Vittorio’s son and together they were the cornerstones of the traveling event which…
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What did Festivalbar represent for you?
«Festivalbar was born in 1964: he is older than me and has been present in my life since I was very young, so I consider him a kind of big brother. I always remember with a smile the first time I saw my father on television, I approached the device which had slots on the side for cooling and I tried to understand how he got in there and above all where he would come out from. Then, traveling with him, I also got to know the depths of Italy’s villages and squares, from North to South. If today I have a vision of the family as a unique and indivisible thing where strength is in the heart, I also owe it to that unique experience that I have experienced since I was little that Festivalbar is.”
Many showbiz characters were born under his direction: is there anyone you are more fond of?
«A special relationship was created with the presenters, in particular with Fiorello, Alessia Marcuzzi and Amadeus, the first presenters with whom I spoke after the death of my father and life teacher. They came to his funeral and right from the start they were very generous professionally and humanly, you could see that they felt perfectly at home with us. In fact, in all the productions they still do today they mention the Festivalbar and sometimes they write to me to go back and do it together.”
And the competing artists?
«Beautiful friendships have also been created with the singers, more than seventy a year between individuals and groups, multiplied by 45 editions, as well as a staff of four hundred technicians every year. I fondly remember Eros Ramazzotti, Laura Pausini, Jovanotti, Vasco, Ligabue, Zucchero, Renato Zero and among the international ones Bon Jovi, Sting, Robbie Williams, Santana. Giuliano Sangiorgi, Cesare Cremonini, Tiziano Ferro and many others also began their careers on our stages.”
Would there still be room for such an event today?
«The wait for a return of the Festivalbar is strong. What has changed is the general level of quality of the music: talent shows have focused on young people who are often novices, trying to transform them into professionals, but the operation is not always successful. Every year, dozens of products of not very high quality are released onto the market which in the past hoped to participate in our festival. Then came Instagram and Tik Tok, reggaeton, autotune and not always very refined lyrics. We should go back to the artists chosen by real talent scouts, accompanied by professionals in the sector to explore new paths without following trends”.
What if a call came for Sanremo?
«Over the years various ones have arrived, but I have always thought that Festivalbar and Sanremo were two events of opposite nature, with artists who were suitable for one or the other, rarely for both. Two completely different energies are expressed and for this reason I have never been able to imagine myself as the organizer of the Sanremo Festival.”
What was your childhood like?
«Splendid: Padua is special from many points of view. I remember the freedom of playing football in the alleys around my house in Bassanello, the weekends with family and friends in some small restaurant in the hills, in particular at the Da Zavattiero restaurant where I ate risotto with livers and then the first ribs and polenta, a never-ending love. Then we came to live in the center and I loved the squares, I grew up on bread and folpetti.”
Have they ever asked you to run for politics?
«Yes, but I have never felt very attracted, by its nature it is often linked to a specific place and patterns, while I really love traveling even for long periods and getting to know different cultures».
Do you have any hobbies?
«I am passionate about photography and video; since I was a child I have made archaeological and ethnographic documentaries around the world. But today I prefer meditation and books of a spiritual nature.”
Your new creation is now the Awareness Festival: how did the project come about?
«During the pandemic with my partners, Miride Bollesan with whom I have always collaborated and Christian Gandini, we felt that humanity was polarizing, creating divisions between groups that were distancing themselves from each other. We therefore thought of holding an event in which we invited personalities from various fields of knowledge, art, science and spirituality to understand how they had overcome their internal divisions. The next edition, the third, will take place in September during the autumn equinox at Palazzo della Ragione, Teatro Verdi and other iconic locations: there will be seminars with high-level speakers, workshops on meditative and energetic practices linked to the elevation of consciousness”.
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