Land of poets, writers, men of letters but also of illustrious singer-songwriters. Liguria gave the birthplace of the great Fabrizio De Andr,author of masterpieces such as Rose mouth (1967), The fisherman (1970), Don Raffa (1990).
Faber (Genoa, 18 February 1940 – Milan, 11 January 1999), as it was renamed, born in the Genoese neighborhood of Pegli, in via De Nicolay 12.Today, a ceramic plaque is visible near his birthplace which remembers him for his talent, for his spirit of solidarity, for having given universal prominence to the language of Genoa. As a young man, De Andr then moved to the Foce area of Genoa: in via Trieste 8, where however there is no plaque commemorating him. Subsequently he moved to Villa Saluzzo Bombrini, in via Francesco Pozzo 2839, in the Albaro district. The singer-songwriter lived here for many years, giving life to some of his songs. Unfortunately, there are no plaques commemorating it here either.
The historic center of Genoa has always been very close to Fabrizio De Andr: in via del Campo 29 redwhere Faber’s most frequented music shop was located, today home to a museum dedicated to Genoese singer-songwriters, an engraving is visible that portrays De Andr with his ever-present cigarette between his fingers; next to the verses: Nothing comes from diamonds, flowers grow from manure…
Another well-known Ligurian singer-songwriter was Umberto Bindi(Genoa, 12 May 1932 – Rome, 23 May 2002). His birthplace is located in via della Libert 26 in Genoa, where there are no commemorative plaques. Together with De Andr he was part of the renowned Genoese school, a cultural and artistic movement of the 1960s, focused on Italian songwriting.
The other founders are Luigi Tenco, Gino Paoli, Bruno Lauzi, Giorgio Calabrese, the Reverberi brothers.Many of them lived part of their youth in Genoa, in the Foce area, but their homes are not commemorated by plaques. Not far away, in his house uphill Santa Chiara a Boccadasse (Genoa), Paoli composed The cat (1956). The group is characterized by a great friendship and a talent that started out a bit for fun and was destined to become famous throughout Italy.
Umberto Bindi, in particular, was also a great composer and pianist: among many other things he wrote Until we meet again (1959; with Giorgio Calabrese), Don’t tell me who you are (Sanremo Festival 1961), The finished music (1967, with Franco CalifanoAnd Nisa for Ornella Vanoni).
Naturally, Luigi Tenco (Cassine, 21 March 1938 – Sanremo, 27 January 1967) should also be mentioned, for the tragic epilogue that linked him forever to Liguria. Even if there are no plaques to commemorate him, Tenco had several residences in Genoa:in via Rimassa 143r, in via Nizza 18, via Fratelli Canale 10, beyond the family home La Torre in Recco (Genoa), uphill Bastia.
The city of Genoa is very close to the singer-songwriter, so much so that it dedicated a plaque to him in Vicolo Aurora near the Boccadasse bay. We read: To Luigi Tenco, young musician and poet who revolutionized Italian song. In this bay his voice and his steps were heard,beyond the verses: I fell in love with you because I had nothing to do, one of his most famous songs, born in 1962. The city of Recco also named the Belvedere, which he often visited, after the singer-songwriter. A tragic date, January 27, 1967: that day the singer-songwriter was found dead by suicide in hotel room 209 of the Savoy hotel in Sanremo during the well-known singing event: he was competing with Bye bye love, sung with Dalida. She was only 28 years old.
In the image: Fabrizio De Andr (photo LaPresse).
On la Lettura #649, previewed today in this App and on newsstands tomorrow, in the 33-page Special on the Turin Book Fair, Sara Erriu’s article dedicated to authors, not only Italian, linked to Liguria, guest region at Lingotto. The article is accompanied by a map of Liguria created by Antonio Monteverdi with a census of the plaques placed where writers and men of letters lived. The survey continues the work started by la Lettura in issue #602 of 11 June 2023 with the articles on Milan; Rome (#615 of September 10); Venice (#623 of November 5); Turin (#626, of November 26); Naples (#633 of January 14); Florence (#638 of February 18), all available in the App Archive.
