Italian News Headlines 26-09-2023 - Cosa Nostra mafia boss, Messina Denaro, has died of colon cancer at the age of 62. He was being held in a maximum security prison after 30 years on the run. He was responsible for dozens of murders including those of anti-mafia magistrates, Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino --- Giorgio Napolitano, the only Italian President to be elected twice, has died in Rome at the age of 98 --- Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, met with European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, on the Italian island of Lampedusa to discuss the European refugee crisis after more than 7,000 migrants arrived from Tunisia in a single week --- Venetian authorities vote to introduce 'ticket only' access to the city from 2024 --- A man who posted a video of himself carving his name into the wall of the Colosseum, while his girlfriend watched, has been identified as living in Britain --- Following the death of Silvio Berlusconi, on June 12th, Antonio Tajani will be appointed the new president of Forza Italia --- Silvio Berlusconi, 4 times Italian prime minister, has died at the age of 86 from complications resulting from Leukaemia --- Extreme weather in Emilia-Romagna has led to 14 dead and 35,000 displaced. There are 500 roads closed and over over 300 sites at risk of landslides --- Two new victims of the Vesuvius eruption in 79AD have been discovered during excavations in Pompei
Il Volo, Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto, Gianluca Ginoble, Italian classical pop, Italian operatic pop

Il Volo

Il Volo are a young Italian operatic pop trio who won the 2015 Sanremo Music Festival. They also represented Italy in the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria.

The group consists of two tenors, Piero Barone and Ignazio Boschetto and one baritone, Gianluca Ginoble. The trio are still very young but all have been singing in competitions and festivals for many years and all had their talent recognised when they were very small children.

Piero Barone (tenor) was born on June 24th 1993 in the town of Naro in Sicily. His father, Gaetano Barone is a mechanic and his mother, Eleonora Ognibene is a housewife. He has a younger sister called Mariagrazia as well as an older brother, Francesco, who is studying philosophy at the University of Bologna. Piero grew up in a musical environment and when he was only five years old it was his grandfather who realised his talent. His grandfather, Pietro Ognibene, is a blind musician and he had written a song in Sicilian which he asked the young Piero to sing it for him. Pietro Ognibene was so amazed at what he heard that he immediately got the help of a friend and recorded Piero singing Un Amore Cosi Grande. People were astonished when they heard Piero the recording and throughout his childhood he was picked up, stood on a table and asked to perform. His family rallied around to help him to develop his gift and his grandfather paid for him to have piano lessons.

Ignazio Boschetto (tenor) was born on 4th October 1994 in the city of Bologna in Emilia Romagna. His father, Vito Boschetto and mother, Caterina Licari both come from Sicily and the family moved back to the island shortly after he was born. Ignazio and his older sister Antonina were both subsequently bought up near the town of Marsala in Sicily. Ignazio has a rare talent and was singing arias from a very early age. One day, to their great surprise, his parents overheard him singing one of Verdi's arias, alone in his bedroom when he was only three years old.

Gianluca Ginoble (baritone) was born on 11th February 1995 in Atri in the region of Abruzzo. He is the eldest son of Ercole Ginoble and Eleonora Di Vittorio, his younger brother is called Ernesto. Gianluca also started singing when he was only three years old and he used to sing with his grandfather in his local village square. He was also very good at football and used to play for his local soccer club where he was known as the 'Maradona of Montepagano'. He is the youngest, shyest and most serious of the three and has an unusual and beautiful deep voice which is baritone but with a strong upper register.

In the year 2009 all three boys entered as solo artists in the Italian music competition 'Ti Lascio Una Canzone'. The winner was Gianluca Ginoble but the director and creator of the show, Roberto Cenci, had the vision to put the three of them together to form a trio similar to 'The Three Tenors'.

The group were originally called 'I Tre Tenori' which was later changed to 'The Tyro'. In 2010 the name was changed for a third and last time to 'Il Volo' which means 'The Flight' in English.

The Best Italian Handmade Gifts
Direct From Italy

Il Volo, Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto, Gianluca Ginoble, Italian classical pop, Italian operatic pop

More Details

Video Clips
Piero Barone - 'No puede ser'
Ignazio Boschetto - 'Caruso'
Gianluca Gineoble - 'Ave Maria'
Winners of the 65th Sanremo Music Festival
Il Volo - 'Grande Amore'
Map of Italy
Facts & Figures
Area: 301,225 km²
Population: 60,157,214
Capital: Rome
Currency: Euro (€)
Calling code: +39
Internet TLD: .it

Current local time in
Rome, Italy
  •  
    •  
Italian Flag
  •  
    •  
Italian Coat of Arms
 
  •  
    •  
Euro Exchange Rates
Exchange Rates
  •  
    •  
ROMEWEATHER
Other pages you might like
Made in Italy
Newsletter
Enter your email address below to receive our free newsletter, 'I Love Italy'. It provides a captivating glimpse into the allure of 'The Bel Paese', containing extracts from our most recent articles, a window on Italian news, fashion, music and culture, useful information for visiting and living in Italy as well as our latest, delicious Italian recipes.

Subscribers are also entitled to a 10% discount on purchases from our sister-site, Italy Gifts Direct.

We will not use your email address for any other purpose or pass it on to any other organisation and you can unsubscribe from this service at any time.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.