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- Benjamin Mascolo was born on 20 June 1993 in Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. He is an actor, known for Time Is Up (2021), Game of Love (2022) and Ben: Respira.
- Actor
- Director
- Additional Crew
Luciano Pavarotti was a best-selling classical singer and humanitarian known for his most original and popular performances with the 'Three Tenors' and 'Pavarotti & Friends'.
He was born on October 12, 1935, in Modena, Emilia-Romagna, in Northern Italy. He was the first child and only son of two children in the family of a baker. His father, Fernando Pavarotti, was a gifted amateur tenor, who instilled a love for music and singing in young Luciano. His mother, Adele Venturi, worked at the local cigar factory. Young Pavarotti showed many talents. He first sang with his father in the Corale Rossi, a male choir in Modena, and won the first prize in an international choir competition in Wales, UK. He also played soccer as a goalkeeper for his town's junior team.
In 1954, at the age of 19, Pavarotti decided to make a career as a professional opera singer. He took serious study with professional tenor Arrio Pola, who discovered that Pavarotti had perfect pitch, and offered to teach him for free. After six years of studies, he had only a few performances in small towns without pay. At that time Pavarotti supported himself working as a part-time school teacher and later an insurance salesman. In 1961 he married his girlfriend, singer Adua Veroni, and the couple had three daughters.
Pavarotti made his operatic debut on April 29, 1961, as Rodolfo in La Boheme by Giacomo Puccini, at the opera house in Reggio Emilia. In the following years he relied on the professional advise from tenor Giuseppe Di Stefano, who prevented Pavarotti from appearances when his voice was not ready yet. Eventually Pavarotti stepped in for Di Stefano in 1963, at the Royal Opera House in London as 'Rodolfo' in La Boheme by Giacomo Puccini, making his international debut. That same year he met soprano Joan Sutherland and the two began one of the most legendary partnerships in vocal history; Pavarotti made his American debut opposite Sutherland in February of 1965, at the Miami Opera.
Pavarotti was blessed with a voice of rare range, beauty and clarity, which was best during the 60s, 70s and 80s. In 1966 he became the first opera tenor to hit all nine "high C's" with his full voice in the aria 'Quel destin' in 'La Fille du Regiment' (aka.. The Daughter of the Regiment) by Gaetano Donizetti. He repeated this feat in his legendary 1972 Met performance and was nicknamed "King of the High C's" in rave reviews. Pavarotti's popularity was arguably bigger than that of any other living tenor in the world. His 1993 live performance in New York's Central Park was attended by 500,000 fans while millions watched it on television. During the 1990s and 2000s Pavarotti was still showing the ability to deliver his clear ringing tone in the higher register, albeit in fewer performances.
Luciano Pavarotti was also known for his humanitarian work. He was the founder and host of the 'Pavarotti & Friends' annual charity concerts and related activities in Modena, Italy. There he sang with international stars of all styles to raise funds for several worthy UN causes. Pavarotti sang with Bono and U2 in the 1995 song Miss Sarajevo and raised $1,500,000 in his charity project 'Concert for Bosnia'. He also established and financed the Pavarotti Music Center in Bosnia, and raised funds in charity concerts for refugees from Afghanistan and Kosovo. Pavarotti made two Guinness World Records: one was for receiving the most curtain calls at 165; and the other was for the best selling classical album of 'The Three Tenors in Concert' with Plácido Domingo and José Carreras.
In March 2004 Pavarotti gave his last performance in an opera as the painter Mario Cavaradossi in Giacomo Puccini's 'Tosca' at the New York Metropolitan Opera. In 2005 Luciano Pavarotti started a 40 city farewell tour. He sang his signature aria 'Nessun Dorma' from 'Turandot' by Giacomo Puccini, at the 2006 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Turin, Italy, on February 10, 2006. Pavarotti survived an emergency surgery for pancreatic cancer. His remaining appearances for 2006 had to be canceled. However, his management anticipated that his farewell tour would resume in 2007.
Luciano Pavarotti died of kidney failure on September 6, 2007, at his home in Modena, Italy, surrounded by his family. He was laid to rest with his parents in the family tomb in Montale Rangone cemetery near Modena. His funeral ceremony was an international event attended by celebrities and over fifty thousand music lovers from all over the world.- Enzo Ferrari was a racing driver who founded the Italian sports car manufacturer bearing his name. Ferrari cars are generally seen as a symbol of luxury and wealth.
He was born Enzo Anselmo Ferrari on February 18, 1898, in Modena, Italy. His father, Alfredo Ferrari, had a metal business. At the age of 10 Enzo saw several car races in the 1908 Circuit di Bologna, and he decided to become a race car driver. He received little formal education, and in his youth during WWI he was shoeing mules during his assignment to the Alpine Artillery division of the Italian Army. Both his father and brother died in 1916 as a result of Italian flu outbreak and the family business collapsed.
Ferrari himself became severely ill during the 1918 flu epidemic which he barely survived, and was discharged from Italian service. He applied for a job at Fiat, was turned down and eventually got a job as a test driver at a small car-maker named CMN. In a 1919 race at the Targa Florio he finished ninth. With the help of his friend Ugo Sivocci he got a job with Alfa-Romeo in 1920, and had success as a racing driver. In 1923, young Ferrari won the Circuit of Sivocci at Ravenna. There, he acquired the legendary ace pilot Francesco Baracca's WWI pilot badge, a prancing horse on a yellow shield. This icon would have to wait until 1932 to be displayed on a racing car.
Enzo Ferrari's greatest victory was at the 1924 Coppa Acerbo at Pescara, with an Alfa Romeo R.L. That and many more successful races made Ferrari a recognized name. In 1922 Benito Mussolini seized power in Italy and established a totalitarian fascist regime that sponsored an aggressive nationalism as a mimic of the Roman Empire. The name of a winning driver, like Ferrari, was used as one of many propaganda tools. He was awarded the Cavaliere dell'ordine della Corona d' Italia and was promoted to the rank of Commendatore. In Mussolini's eyes Ferrari had won all his races for Italy. In reality it was the only job Ferrari could do.
In 1926, overburdened and stressed, Ferrari experienced an emotional breakdown and stopped racing. He turned down a few offers, including one for a big race in Mussolini's presence. He switched to fixing cars for Alfa, but his racing career was mostly over, though he did race in 1927 and a few times thereafter, but with less success than he had previously. In 1929 he started Scuderia Ferrari, a team of racing drivers and technical assistants working for Alfa. Ferrari soon made similar deals with Bosch, Pirelli and Shell. His team caused a sensation after eight victories in 22 competitions. With up to 50 full- and part-time drivers, it was the largest team ever gathered by one man.
Ferrari's talent as a team organizer and director superseded that of a racer. He completely retired from racing in 1932, when his first son Dino was born. In 1937 he quit Alfa-Romeo under agreement that he could not race or design anything under his name for four years. During World War II, Ferrari's company was forced to undertake war production for Mussolini's fascist government, thus supplying auto parts for the Italian military. Allied bombing forced him to relocate the factory from Modena to Maranello. After WWII Ferrari was able to shed his fascist-tainted reputation. He concentrated all efforts on the design of the car that would carry his name.
In 1946 Ferrari Tipo125, a 1.5-liter car, was built in collaboration with his old friend G. Colombo, and it was entered in the 1947 Grand Prix of Monaco. Ferrari participated in the first F-1 World Championship in 1950. He won the 1951 F-1 British Grand Prix and dominated the World Championships in the early 50s. He also had a business victory when Lancia withdrew from racing and its parent company, Fiat, turned over all Lancia's cars to Ferrari. His F-1 successes in 1956, 1958, 1961 and 1964 were paralleled by even more victories at the Mille Miglia and Le Mans. His total of 14 victories at Le Mans included six in a row in 1960-1965.
The postwar economic boom ended for Ferrari in 1956, when his son Dino died of muscular dystrophy, causing the end of Enzo's marriage. Ferrari was depressed and, having not many friends, moved into a small apartment at his factory. There he lived and worked 24/7 without a vacation for many years. He wore sunglasses as a ritual to honor his son. His management skills and attention to details helped the business through a decline in the 60s. In 1963 he rejected an $18-million offer from Ford to buy his company. In 1965 he allowed Fiat to have a small stake the company; their share increased to 50% in 1969 and and to 90% in 1988. Ferrari remained managing director until 1971, and was influential until his death at the age of 90 on August 14, 1988, in Modena, Italy.
The Scuderia Ferrari team won several F-1 championships with driver Michael Schumacher between 1999-2004. The name of the company's founder was given to the 2003-2004 production model. It was built with F-1 technology: carbon-fiber body, F-1 sequential-shift transmission, and carbon-ceramic brake discs. The Enzo Ferrari is the first model to have the new V12 power plant, making it the fastest street-legal race car Ferrari has ever produced. It shares the base platform with its twin, the Maserati MC12, which is both a street car and a GT racing car. Only 399 Enzo Ferraris were built and sold to subscribers. - Paola Lavini is an actress known for Hidden away by Giorgio Diritti, Beautiful soul by Dario Albertini, Black souls by Francesco Munzi, Heavenly body by Alice Rohrwacher, Partly cloudy with Sunny Spells by Marco Pontecorvo, Wild blood by Marco Tullio Giordana , The youngest son by Pupi Avati, No problem by Vincenzo Salemme, School of Mafia by Alessandro Pondi and the tv series Carla (as Maria Callas) by Emanuele Imbucci, The miracle by Niccolò Ammaniti, The secret of Dony by Pupi Avati, Rome, Don Zeno - l'uomo di Nomadelfia , Thou shalt not kill, Rome, Gente di mare, The teacher, La squadra, Carabinieri
- Gabriele Amorth was born on 1 May 1925 in Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. He was a writer, known for The Pope's Exorcist (2023), Satan Lives (2015) and Jak pokonac Szatana (2013). He died on 16 September 2016 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
She started her career as a singer at only 15 years old in 1959 in Fred Buscaglione's orchestra, then she recorded many albums and took part in 3 "Festival di San Remo" (the most important Italian musical show). She work as a singer and TV presenter until the first half of '70 when, when she became one of the most famous star of the Italian sex-comedy.
She is the wife of the director Mauro Ivaldi.- Greta Cavazzoni was born in Modena, a small town in northern Italy. She was discovered at age 16 at a modeling competition and from there her career took off. Since then she has been featured on the covers of numerous international fashion magazines and has graced the runways in such high-fashion meccas as Milan, London and Paris. While modeling she discovered her love for acting. As a result of her acting commitments she divides her time between Rome and New York.
- Adua Veroni was born on 21 February 1936 in Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. She was previously married to Luciano Pavarotti.
- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
The son of an army officer and landowner, Cottafavi (christened Benedetto Vittorio Emmanuele Secondo) was already endowed with a university education in law, philosophy and literature by the time he graduated from the famous Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome in 1938.
He began his professional career in the film industry as a clapper boy. After progressing to write motion picture screenplays and working as assistant director under Alessandro Blasetti and Vittorio De Sica, he became a director in his own right in 1943. Many of his films have been lavishly-produced, including several tongue-in-cheek "sword-and sandal" costume spectaculars dealing with mythological subjects and usually involving the Roman Empire or Ancient Egypt. From the mid-60s, Cottafavi concentrated exclusively on directing TV series and mini-series under contract to RAI (Radio Televisione Italiana).- Actor
- Cinematographer
- Director
Alessandro Serradimigni was born in 1990 in Campogalliano, Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. He is an actor and cinematographer, known for 2023 - The End of the World (2023), Unplanned Parenthood (2021) and Interrupted (2021).- Actress
- Soundtrack
Mirella Freni was born on 27 February 1935 in Modena, Italy. She was an actress, known for Fatal Attraction (1987), Copycat (1995) and Awakenings (1990). She was married to Nicolai Ghiaurov and Leone Magiera. She died on 9 February 2020 in Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Cesare Cremonini was born on 4 June 1960 in Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. He is an actor and director, known for Il signor Diavolo (2019), Inferno (2016) and The Vatican (2013).- Actress
- Producer
- Additional Crew
A very successful and popular singer until 1971, then talent scout and recording entrepreneur, Caterina Caselli Sugar is a unique case in the Italian music business. At the height of her success and with over than 10 million records sold, four years after her debut with "Nessuno Mi Può Giudicare" (1966), Caterina Caselli made the decision to retire from performing to pursue the record production activities and dedicate her time and efforts to developing young talent. Starting in 1976 with her label Ascolto through which major artists were launched such as Pierangelo Bertoli, Mauro Pagani, Area with Demetrio Stratos, Enrico Ruggeri, Raf, Francesco Baccini, Sergio Caputo, Paolo Vallesi, while building an International career for the outstanding Paolo Conte. Under the management of Caterina Caselli Sugar, in 1989, a new company emerged. One started from scratch and heavily focused on talent scouting and record production with the label Insieme-Sugar (now Sugar). With little risk aversion and a focus on the international marketplace, Sugar, produced "Notte Italiana" the 1990 anthem to the Football World Cup held in Italy. Written/composed by Giorgio Moroder and performed by Gianna Nannini and Edoardo Bennato, it immediately became an international hit at the topped charts the world over for close to a year.
In the subsequent years, the label developed a growing roster including the world's most beloved tenor Andrea Bocelli, with almost 100 million copies of pop and opera albums sold; Sanremo Festival winners Avion Travel (in 2000); singer-songwriter Elisa - one of the most popular local female artists to this day; stadium touring band Negramaro (the first italian band to fill Milan' San Siro Stadium after just five years of career); eclectic pop icon Malika Ayane, known for having one of the most recognizable voices in Italy; Sanremo winner and 2011 Eurovision runner up, pop-jazz artist and composers, Raphael Gualazzi As a publisher SugarMusic is in the top italian and International league with a global catalogue that include popular music but also Edizioni Suvini Zerboni with its fundamental listings of contemporary 1900 composers such as Goffredo Petrassi and Luigi Dallapiccola, Bruno Maderna's and Luciano Berio's first works (including the ones they created together at RAI Laboratorio di Fonologia in Milano that Ladislao Sugar deposited at the italian collecting society SIAE under the "magnetic tape" format, a prime in Europe), and those of Aldo Clementi, Franco Donatoni, Ennio Morricone, Ivan Fedele and Alessandro Solbiati. In 2011 Sugar acquired Edizioni C.A.M., a major movie soundtracks catalogue of historic recordings. With over 2,000 original soundtracks, it documents the sound of Italian cinema and captures film history like no other. La Dolce Vita, Amarcord, Mondo Cane, Il Postino, 8½ and Il Gattopardo (The Leopard) are but a few of the works from over 400 music maestros such as Nino Rota, Ennio Morricone, Luis Bacalov, Riz Ortolani, Piero Piccioni, Armando Trovajoli, Piero Umiliani, Stelvio Cipriani, Fiorenzo Carpi, Philippe Sarde, and many more.
Caterina's recording company Sugar has supported the development of innovative business models and created a variety of special projects including, "One Night in Central Park" (2011), arguably the most extraordinary concert event of Andrea Bocelli's career, organized in collaboration with Barilla, "La Dolce Vita the music of Italian Cinema" (2014) the international format for great orchestras as well as reaching numerous international milestones including the global chart-topping success of 'Si', Bocelli's most recent studio album, which was nominated for a Grammy and reached number one in both the official U.S. and U.K. album charts and the recent event, "Music For Hope" (2020) from the Duomo cathedral in Milan, the most watched classical music live stream in YouTube history.
In 2021 the documentary "Caterina Caselli - Una vita cento vite" was previewed as Special Event at the 16th edition of Rome Film Fest. The docufilm signed by Renato De Maria tells the story of Caterina Caselli and her bond with the central figures in Italian music: from the big names she has worked with, to the artists she herself made famous, such as Andrea Bocelli, Elisa, Negramaro and many others. A crystal-clear, profound portrait, with original commentary and archive material faithfully bearing witness to the complex nature of Caterina Caselli's personality , poised between fragility and determination.
For her artistic and industrial activities Caterina Caselli Sugar has received over the years many awards and rewards among which the Marisa Bellisario Foundation's Golden Apple for Creative Industries in 1998, and the Golden Ambrogino by the City of Milan in 2007.
On March 8th 2006 the President of Italy's Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi awarded Caterina the high onorary title of Grande Ufficiale al merito della Repubblica.- Piero Ferrari was born on 22 May 1945 in Castelvetro di Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Mario Guaita-Ausonia was born in 1882 in Modena, Italy. He was an actor and director, known for La cintura delle Amazzoni (1920), L'atleta fantasma (1919) and Spartacus (1913). He died in 1957 in Marseille, France.- Nerina Montagnani was born on 20 April 1897 in Maranello, Modena, Italy. She was an actress, known for Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (1972), The Pizza Triangle (1970) and The Killer Nun (1979). She died on 4 November 1993 in Maranello, Modena, Italy.
- Writer
- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alessandro Marzullo was born on May 27, 1993 in Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. He is a director, writer and producer known for Looped Love (2018 - written and directed), with Diane Fleri, Riccardo Giacomini, Emanuela Rossi, Unica (2019 - written, directed) and the web show Branding Love (2018 - written, directed, produced), the first show of Sapienza University of Rome.- Vincenzo Mollica was born on 27 January 1953 in Formigine, Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. He is a director and writer, known for Stefano Salvati, Sharon Stone e Sting (1998), I televisionari (2010) and Once Upon a Time: Tonino Delli Colli Cinematographer (2022).
- Lorenza Pavarotti was born on 26 October 1962 in Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
- Maurizio Vandelli is well known in Italy as singer and musician, as leader of the band called Equipe 84, that appeared in a several musical-movie in the 60s and later as producer, songwriter, and soundtrack composer. He retired from music business at the end of the 70s, then he returned during the 90s to sing in show with his own band.
- Producer
- Actor
Paolo Guerra was born on 26 December 1949 in Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. He was a producer and actor, known for Three Men and a Leg (1997), Do You Know Claudia? (2004) and That's Life (1998). He died on 5 February 2020 in Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.- Actor
- Writer
Bonvi was born on 31 March 1941 in Modena, Italy. He was an actor and writer, known for Sturmtruppen (1976), Sturmtruppen 2 (tutti al fronte) (1982) and Come rubammo la bomba atomica (1967). He died on 9 December 1995 in Bologna, Italy.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Bruno Lazzaretti was born on 5 September 1957 in Sassuolo, Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. He is an actor, known for Kingdom of Heaven (2005), Hannibal (2001) and Hannibal (2013).- Composer
- Actor
Paolo Belli was born on 21 March 1962 in Formigine, Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. He is a composer and actor, known for Evelina e i suoi figli (1990), Al momento giusto (2000) and ... E fuori nevica! (2014). He is married to Deanna.- Luca Toni was born on 26 May 1977 in Pavullo nel Frignano, Modena, Italy. He has been married to Marta Cecchetto since 9 September 2017. They have two children.