Giovanni D'Anzi (1 January 1906 – 15 April 1974) was an Italian songwriter.

Biography

D'Anzi was born in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. In 1935 he wrote music and lyrics of " O mia bela Madonina" ("My beautiful little

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

"), a song dedicated to his hometown which soon became very popular and a sort of unofficial city anthem. Between the 1930s and 1950s Giovanni D'Anzi and Alfredo Bracchi formed a very prolific pair of songwriters. They worked for

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ** Filmmaking, the process of making a film * Movie theate ...

and

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

productions. Several of their songs were great hits. Among them ''"Ma le gambe"'', ''"Bambina innamorata"'', ''"Ma l'amore no"'', 'Voglio vivere così', ''"Ti parlerò d'amor"''. His song ''"Malinconia d'amore"'' has been sung by both

Luciano Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...

and

José Carreras Josep Maria Carreras Coll (; born 5 December 1946), better known as José Carreras (, ), is a Catalan operatic tenor from Spain who is particularly known for his performances in the operas of Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini. Born in Barcelona, ...

. Most of their songs were in

Milanese Milanese (endonym in traditional orthography , ) is the central variety of the Western dialect of the Lombard language spoken in Milan, the rest of its metropolitan city, and the northernmost part of the province of Pavia. Milanese, due to t ...

dialect, and described ironically characters of the past in

, for example ''"La gagarella del Biffi Scala"'' (the spoiled daughter of Mr Biffi Scala) and ''"El Tumiami de Luret"'' (the braggart from

piazzale Loreto Piazzale Loreto is a major city square in Milan, Italy. Origin The name ''Loreto'' is also used in a wider sense to refer to the district surrounding the square, which is part of the Zone 2 administrative division, in the northeastern part of ...

), '' El Biscella'' (the silly-bully boy). During the 1960s Giovanni D'Anzi retired from the musical scene. He moved to

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

and took up

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

. He died at

Santa Margherita Ligure Santa Margherita Ligure () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about southeast of Genoa, in the area traditionally known as Tigullio. It has a port, used for both tourism and ...

. Milan's local authorities included him in the list of important Milanese people at the Monumental Cemetery in the

Civico Mausoleo Palanti The Edicola Palanti inside the Cimitero Monumentale di Milano, work by architect Mario Palanti built in 1924–28, become ''Civico Mausoleo'' to honorable citizens of Milan in on 4 February 1981. Famous graves inside are: Hermann Einstein, Walter ...

. In 1990 to his memory a plaque was hung in Galleria del Corso in Milan, in front of the place where he worked and near where he lived, the plaque reads "once upon a time in this gallery there was a king: Giovanni D'anzi, he wrote magic notes, and the sweetest serenade he sang for

: Oh mia bela Madonina " In his memory, since 1995, the Gruppo Editoriale Curci under the auspices of the

Comune di Milano Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

and the association " Amici della musica e dello spettacolo " organizes the annual Award Giovanni D'Anzi, singing event in Milanese dialect. The presenter is Tony Martucci historical event, with Liliana Feldmann in the years 1992 and 1993, with Roberta Potrich in the years 2004 and 2005.

Selected filmography themes

* ''

Department Store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

'' (1939) * ''

Nonna Felicità ''Nonna Felicità'' is a 1938 Italian film directed by Mario Mattoli and starring Dina Galli. It was made as a sequel to the 1937 film '' Felicita Colombo''. It was shot at the Cinecittà Studios in Rome. The film adapts a play of the same name ...

'' (1939) * ''

Nothing New Tonight ''Nothing New Tonight'' () is a 1942 Italian drama film directed by Mario Mattoli and starring Alida Valli, Carlo Ninchi and Antonio Gandusio.Reich p.173 It was shot at the Safa Palatino Studios in Rome. The film's sets were designed by the art ...

'' (1942) * ''La vita è bella'' (1943) * ''

Anything for a Song ''Anything for a Song'' () is a 1943 Italian " white-telephones" musical film directed by Mario Mattoli and starring Ferruccio Tagliavini, Vera Carmi and Luisa Rossi.Chiti & Poppi p.176 It was shot at the Palatino Studios in Rome. The film's ...

'' (1943) * ''

Annabella's Adventure ''Annabella's Adventure'' or ''The Adventure of Annabella'' (Italian:''L'avventura di Annabella'') is a 1943 Italian comedy film directed by Leo Menardi and starring Fioretta Dolfi, Maurizio D'Ancora and Paola Borboni.Moliterno p.25 The film's se ...

'' (1943) * ''

Tutta la città canta ''Tutta la città canta'' () is a 1945 Italian musical-comedy film directed by Riccardo Freda. Cast Production Pre-production ''Tutta la città canta'' was director Riccardo Freda's third film as a director. It was influenced by Hollywood film ...

'' (1945) * ''

Departure at Seven ''Departure at Seven'' () is a 1946 Italian musical comedy film directed by Mario Mattoli and starring Chiaretta Gelli, Carlo Campanini and Laura Gore.Celli & Cottino-Jones p.68 The film's sets were designed by the art director Gastone Medin. I ...

'' (1946) * '' Solo per te Lucia'' (1952) * '' It Was She Who Wanted It!'' (1953) * ''Assi alla ribalta'' (1954) * ''

L'ultimo amante ''L'ultimo amante'' (literally ''The Last Lover'') is a 1955 Italian melodrama film directed by Mario Mattoli and starring Amedeo Nazzari and May Britt. It was a remake of Mattoli's 1942 film '' Nothing New Tonight''. This version aptly concl ...

'' (1955)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:D'Anzi, Giovanni 1906 births 1974 deaths Musicians from Milan Italian male songwriters Italian male composers Burials at the Cimitero Monumentale di Milano 20th-century Italian composers 20th-century male composers 20th-century Italian songwriters 20th-century Italian male musicians