Antonello Venditti

Antonio "Antonello" Venditti (born 8 March 1949) is an Italian singer-songwriter and pianist who became popular in the 1970s for the social themes addressed in his songs. Biography Antonello Venditti was born in Rome, the son of Vincenzino Italo Venditti from Campolieto, in Molise, who at the time was deputy-prefect in Rome, and Wanda Sicardi. He studied piano in his youth and made his debut in the music world in the early 1970s at the Folkstudio in Rome, together with singers like Francesco De Gregori, Mimmo Locasciulli, Grazia Di Michele and Giorgio Lo Cascio. De Gregori and Venditti formed a duo and together they released their first album, Theorius Campus, in 1972. The LP enjoyed limited commercial success, but showcased Venditti's powerful voice and talent for addressing social issues. This is particularly evident in pieces like "Sora Rosa", sung in Roman dialect. Also in semi-dialect was "Roma Capoccia", a vernacular translation of the Latin expression "Roma Caput mundi" intended as a declaration of love for Venditti's hometown, which later became one of his most famous songs. Curiously, Venditti refused to sing it for several years, as he considered it not politically or socially "engaged" enough. Venditti and De Gregori subsequently parted ways. Venditti moved to Milan in 1973 and released his first solo labum L'orso bruno, made in collaboration with musician Vince Tempera; this album included another song in dialect, "E li ponti so' soli", but otherwise was marked by an even stronger attention to social themes. His next work, Le cose della vita ("Things of Our Life"), released the same year for RCA Music, confirmed this tendency. The following LP Quando verrà Natale ("When Christmas Comes") was similar; its minimal arrangements emphasize the strength of Venditti's denunciation.