Tarantism is a form of hysteric behaviour originating in Southern Italy, popularly believed to result from the bite of the wolf spider Lycosa tarantula. A better candidate cause is Latrodectus tredecimguttatus, commonly known as the Mediterranean black widow or steppe spider, although no link between such bites and the behaviour of tarantism has ever been demonstrated. However, the term historically is used to refer to a dancing mania – characteristic of Southern Italy – which likely had little to do with spider bites. The tarantella dance supposedly evolved from a therapy for tarantism.
Ludovico Maria Enrico Einaudi OMRI is an Italian pianist and composer. Trained at the Conservatorio Verdi in Milan, Einaudi began his career as a classical composer, later incorporating other styles and genres such as pop, rock, folk, and world music.
Griko, sometimes spelled Grico, is the dialect of Italiot Greek spoken by Griko people in Salento, and also called Grecanico, in Calabria. Some Greek linguists consider it to be a Modern Greek dialect and often call it Katoitaliótika or Grekanika (Γραικάνικα), whereas its own speakers call it Greko or Griko. Griko is spoken in Salento while Greko is spoken in Calabria. Griko and Standard Modern Greek are partially mutually intelligible.
Salento, also known as Terra d'Otranto, is a cultural, historical and geographic region at the southern end of the administrative region of Apulia in Southern Italy. It is a sub-peninsula of the Italian Peninsula, sometimes described as the "heel" of the Italian "boot". It encompasses the entire administrative area of the province of Lecce, a large part of the province of Brindisi and part of that of Taranto.
"Almeno tu nell'universo" is a song written by Bruno Lauzi and Maurizio Fabrizio and recorded by Italian singer Mia Martini, who released it as a single in 1989 and included the track in her self-titled album Martini Mia. Martini performed the song for the first time at the Sanremo Music Festival 1989, where it placed 9th in a field of 24, but received the Critics' Award, which would be named after Martini herself after her death. The song later became a commercial success, being certified platinum by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry, and is now considered a classic of Italian popular music.
Pizzica is a popular Italian folk dance, originally from the Salento peninsula in Apulia and later spreading throughout the rest of Apulia and the regions of Calabria and eastern Basilicata.
Marco Mengoni is an Italian singer-songwriter who rose to fame in 2009, after winning the third season of Italian talent show X Factor. Since that he has sold over 2.8 million records in Italy, peaking the Italian albums chart seven consecutive times and entering the Top 10 Italian Singles Chart fifteen times. He won the Sanremo Music Festival in 2013 and again in 2023, therefore representing Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest in both years, respectively.
The Griko people, also known as Grecanici in Calabria, are an ethnic Greek community of Southern Italy. They are found principally in regions of Calabria and Apulia. The Griko are believed to be remnants of the once large Ancient and Medieval Greek communities of southern Italy, although there is dispute among scholars as to whether the Griko community is directly descended from Ancient Greeks or from more recent medieval migrations during the Byzantine domination.
Traditions of Italy are sets of traditions, beliefs, values, and customs that belongs within the culture of Italian people. These traditions have influenced life in Italy for centuries, and are still practiced in modern times. Italian traditions are directly connected to Italy's ancestors, which says even more about Italian history.
Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino (CGS), formed by writer Rina Durante in 1975, is a traditional music ensemble from Salento, Italy. The seven piece band and dancer perform a contemporary style of Southern Italy's traditional Pizzica music and dance.
Massimo Bray is an Italian publisher, politician, and historian. He served as the minister of cultural heritage and tourism in the Letta government from 28 April 2013 to 22 February 2014. He is currently the general manager of the Treccani Institute.
"Il cielo in una stanza" is a song written by Gino Paoli and originally recorded by Italian singer Mina for the album of the same name. The song was released as a single in June 1960 by Italdisc. It became a commercial success in Italy, topping the charts for eleven consecutive weeks and later returning to number one for three additional weeks. It is also Mina's best-selling single in Italy, with estimated sales of 400.000 copies.
Elements is a studio album by Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi released on 16 October 2015.
Graziella Franchini, better known as Lolita, was an Italian pop singer.
Elodie Di Patrizi, known professionally as simply Elodie, is an Italian singer, actress, and model. She first rose to prominence as the runner-up of the fifteenth season of the show Amici di Maria De Filippi.
Francesca Calearo, known professionally as Madame, is an Italian singer, songwriter and rapper.
"Mi fiderò" is a song recorded by Italian singer-songwriter Marco Mengoni, with featured vocals by Madame. The song was released to Italian radio stations on 31 December 2021 as the third single from Mengoni's sixth studio album Materia (Terra).
"Pazza musica" is a duet recorded by Italian singers Marco Mengoni and Elodie for Mengoni's eighth studio album, Materia (Prisma) (2023). Sony Music released the song as the second single from the album on 26 May 2023. It peaked at number ten of the Italian singles chart, becoming Mengoni's 18th and Elodie's 7th top-ten song.
The culture of Apulia, the region that constitutes the extreme southeast of the Italian peninsula, has had, since ancient times, mixed influences from the West and the East, due to its strategic position near the transition zone between these two cultural regions. Its location, on the west coast of the Adriatic and Ionian seas, the natural southern border between Western Europe and the Balkans and Greece, made it a bridge to the East since antiquity, and in the Middle Ages, it was a cultural frontier between the Roman-Germanic West and the Greek-Byzantine East.
The Targa Tenco is a prize awarded annually by the Club Tenco. Founded in 1984, it has a large jury of 200 journalists and critics awarding the best works of the year. It is considered the most prestigious award in Italian music.
