The Italian Who Enchanted the World

Rai 1, Wednesday, November 27, 2024 – Prime Time, 9:30 pm

“DOMENICO MODUGNO. The Italian Who Enchanted the World”

The event documentary by Maite Carpio.
A production by Garbo Produzioni and INMAGINE SA, in co-production with RSI Radiotelevisione Svizzera, in collaboration with Rai Documentari.

30 years after the passing of Domenico Modugno, a personal portrait traces the life and career of the man and the artist who marked the history of our country, through the memories of those who knew him, loved him, or carried on his legacy.

It was 1958 when a song written by a novice lyricist in collaboration with a young rising artist triumphed at the Sanremo Festival. The two were Franco Migliacci and Domenico Modugno, and the song was “Nel blu dipinto di blu.” Unknowingly, that track carried Italian music beyond the confines of bel canto, and its author and performer, Domenico Modugno, found himself catapulted into American stardom, selling over 22 million copies worldwide and winning two Grammy Awards.

To mark the 30th anniversary of his passing, the event documentary “DOMENICO MODUGNO. THE ITALIAN WHO ENCHANTED THE WORLD” arrives on Rai 1, prime time on Wednesday, November 27. Conceived and written by Maite Carpio and produced by Garbo Produzioni and INMAGINE, in co-production with RSI – Radiotelevisione Svizzera, in collaboration with Rai Documentari, the film retraces the succession of challenges, setbacks and rebirths in Modugno’s life. It does so through footage from national and international archives and evocative sequences filmed in the places most familiar to him: Polignano a Mare, where he was born, San Pietro Vernotico, and Rome, where he lived.

Adriano Aragozzini, Gaetano Benedetto, Enrica Bonaccorti, Marco De Antoniis, Giancarlo Governi, Massimo Modugno, Liana Orfei, Giuliano Sangiorgi, Maurizio Ternavasio and Marinella Venegoni join Modugno’s own voice in recounting his life and his ongoing struggle not to be remembered solely as Mister Volare.

The documentary tells the story of an Italian who made us all feel proud, because in him we saw the reflection of our best selves.