Ornella Vanoni, the beloved Italian singer whose career spanned more than seven decades and whose unforgettable voice left an indelible mark on generations of music lovers, has died at 91.
Passing away late Friday at her home in Milan from cardiac arrest, her deeply moving final request is once again capturing the world’s attention.
Mourned by the Prime Minister
Celebrated as “The Lady of Italian Song,” Vanoni recorded over 100 albums, sold more than 55 million records during her career.
She became one of Italy’s most iconic performers with hits like Senza Fine and L’appuntamento. Her music crossed borders, blending jazz, pop, and folk, and she collaborated with legends like Gil Evans, Herbie Hancock and George Benson.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her sorrow on X, calling Vanoni’s voice “unmistakable” and her legacy “an unrepeatable artistic heritage.”
Vanoni’s journey to stardom wasn’t easy.
Born in Milan in 1934 to a well-off family, she initially pursued theater, studying in Switzerland, Britain, and France.
“There are birth dates that are not recorded in paperwork but which are, instead, the days when you finally become who you really are,” she wrote in her memoir Vincente o perdente (“Winner or Loser”), recalling the terror she felt before stepping onto the stage at Milan’s Piccolo Teatro.
Her role in Ocean’s Twelve
Her first love was theatre director Giorgio Strehler, 13 years her senior, but she would soon find another in music. Collaborating — and romantically entangle d— with famed Italian singer-songwriter Gino Paoli, she shot to international fame in 1961 with the hit Senza Fine.
Vanoni’s career was defined by versatility and daring. She was nicknamed Cantante della mala (“underworld singer”) for her early songs about Milan’s criminal underworld, yet she could move seamlessly into sophisticated pop, jazz, and collaborations with contemporary artists.
Her song L’appuntamento, a 1970 adaptation of the Brazilian classic Sentado à beira do caminho, found a new generation of fans when it appeared in the soundtrack of Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s Twelve in 2004.
She starred on stage, in television shows, and in films. In January 1977, she posed nude for the Italian edition of Playboy and asked her longtime friend, artist Arnaldo Pomodoro, for a statuette as payment.
Her life off-stage was equally vivid. She married Lucio Ardenzi in 1960, with whom she had a son, Cristiano, but later admitted she never truly loved him. Reflecting on her tangled personal life, she said in a 2024 interview:
”I didn’t know what to do with myself. I had broken up with Strehler, who was married; I loved Paoli, who was married; I met Ardenzi, I got married.”
Relationship with Versace and Armani
Even in her later years, Vanoni remained a cultural force — gracing talk shows with her wit, collaborating with younger artists, and sharing candid reflections on aging, solitude, and creativity.
She also navigated English with ease, her time studying at Cambridge giving her a polished, cosmopolitan air. In her memoir, she described herself with poetic honesty:
”I am one of those women. Women on fire, fragile and full of tenderness, sheltered behind nervous outbursts, elegant detachment, and sarcasm. Desperate and happy, alone and celebrated, furious and delicate.”
Vanoni’s influence extended beyond music. A friend of Gianni Versace, she inspired legendary designers like Giorgio Armani and Valentino.
Her last wish
She participated eight times in Italy’s prestigious Sanremo Music Festival, earning second place in 1968, and became the only Italian female artist to win the Tenco Award twice as a songwriter.
Her last wishes reflected the independent, theatrical spirit that defined her life. She told the Italian TV show Che Tempo Che Fa:
”The coffin should be cheap because I want to be cremated. Then throw me in the sea, maybe in Venice. I have the dress. It’s by Dior.”
