Annalisa Minetti, who won Sanremo in 1998 with ‘Senza te o con te’, has a younger sister whose name is Francesca. The latter was born when the singer was sixteen years old, so Annalisa was a second mother for Francesca, as both confirmed, recently guests at ‘Verissimo’ in Silvia Toffanin’s living room. This spring, Annalisa also obtained a 110 cum laude degree in Sports Sciences. Annalisa and Francesca also have two other brothers, Fabio and Valentina. The two sisters suffer from retinitis pigmentosa, which causes progressive loss of vision.
Hopes
At the beginning of the interview Minetti, who also suffers from macular degeneration, communicated important news for her, her sister and those who, like them, have the same pathologies. The artist, in fact, explained that in Paris and also elsewhere outside Italy, researchers are working on a microchip that could allow people with retinal degenerations, like the Minetti sisters, to see again.
Annalisa realized at 16 that she had vision problems, but the disease was diagnosed only two years later. Her sister Francesca said that, at the time, she and the other brothers also underwent medical tests which revealed that she too could have had problems. Around the age of 15-16, Francesca began to experience a sharp decline in her vision.
Loves
Precisely in the period in which Francesca began to no longer see well, she met what later became hers Husband. The couple had two little girls, Isis and Chloe.
Francesca also became a manager in a multinational company. Annalisa is also a mother: with her ex-husband, the footballer Gennaro Esposito, she had Fabio, 16 years old. Minetti and Esposito then divorced in 2013. For a couple of years Fabio, who dreams of becoming a footballer like Esposito, has been living with Gennaro. Instead, the singer had Elena Francesca from her current spouse Michele Panzarino, six years ago.
The two sisters said the disease helped them develop self-deprecation and resilience. “Our father always taught us: ‘Smile at the pain and you disarm it’”. Recently the father of the Minetti sisters had a heart attack and was at great risk, but fortunately he is now better. “He has always been present, he has accompanied me in everything I have done,” added Francesca.
