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NEWS
18
DECEMBER
2014
NON LASCIARE ROMA
NOTIZIA PUBBLICATA IL 18 December 2014

The great actor, died in 2004, would have to sing the song on the stage of the Ariston with Alberto Sordi, but then the project vanished: "He was considered too old," says Franco Fasano, one of the authors.

"Do not leave Rome without having kissed a Roman, not leave Rome without throwing a penny in the fountain": to sing this simple chorus melody is retro Nino Manfredi. The song? An unprecedented that the great actor carved a few years before he died. Non lasciare Rome is signed by Franco Fasano, Mario Panzeri, Gianfranco Grottoli and Andrea Vaschetti but was Claudio Zitti, producer and friend of Fasano, to present it to Manfredi in 1997: "I do not remember how it came into contact with the great Nino - tells Zitti - maybe I met him at a party and talked him, or maybe I left the audition to his butler. The fact is that early one morning the phone rang the other side of my house and I heard: "Hello, I'm Nino Manfredi. I listened to the piece, when we record? '. I thought I was still dreaming. "
He loved to sing, Manfredi, and perhaps that is accepted almost immediately affect the piece: extraordinary protagonist of the musical comedy, was with Aldo Fabrizi, Bice Values and Lea Massari in Rugantino (1962) signed Garinei and Giovannini, with music by Armando Trovajoli: its Roma nun is' stupid tonight remains crystallized in the popular imagination. Impossible not to mention songs symbol of "Roman" as Me pinches me mozzicate (from the film for grace received) or his version of the classic Ettore Petrolini dated 1932 Tanto pe 'sings', which in 1970 reached the top positions of the hit parade . Do not leave Rome is a simple song that owes as much to Nino Manfredi and his ability to interpret: the capital told in the text has little to do with that power center corrupt protagonist of the investigations of the last few days.
It is the Rome of the tourists, who wander the streets for some time and are fascinated by life. "I was impressed by the humility of Nino, in the study was done to drive like a child. We had big plans for the song, "says Claudio Hush. Major projects, never materialized. The song would have come out in 2000 as a tribute to those who bought tickets Alitalia: the chance? That of the Jubilee, and many tourists arriving in the capital. The idea, however, did not like one of the leaders of the airline: "All too parochial," he said. Another opportunity presented itself to the authors a few years later: bring the piece to the general public RaiUno, during an evening of the Festival of Sanremo. Great opportunity, especially as a duet with Manfredi on the stage of the Ariston should have been Alberto Sordi. According to the words of Claudio Shut up, the great Roman actor accepted without any hesitation: "I said it would be available in three occasions: to record the piece, to come to Sanremo as a guest and to make a pass television immediately after the Festival."

There remained, therefore, that convince those who in 2002 managed the artistic direction of the festival Sanremo: "I went to submit the piece to Pippo Baudo - still tells Hush - listened to him more than once, and when I suggested the presence of Sordi and Manfredi Festival assured me , enthusiastic, that the show would go through. Unfortunately our handshake was imprisoned between those four walls and I am still wondering what happened. "The experts have always judged not leave Rome a song too dated" sums Franco Fasano. The first draft is due to the master Panzeri and dates from the end of Year 80. "During the many meetings between 1988 and 1990, Panzeri told anecdotes about the birth of some historical songs and sometimes suggested titles or verses that he seemed to work well. One evening, in the middle of a dinner, he began to sing 'Do not leave Rome without having kissed a Roman, without throwing a penny in the fountain' and said that this phrase often returned in the mind, "and tell Gianfranco Grottoli Andrea Vaschetti.

In 1997 the two musicians decided to resume the piece, along with Franco Fasano. "It's been almost 25 years since the first draft of this simple song that united three generations of authors," says Franco Fasano, with a note of melancholy. Do not leave Rome was chosen as the theme of the exhibition Roman NINO !, at Palazzo Braschi, until January 6. The exhibition is part of a series of events organized on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the death of Manfredi: vernissage from Hollywood to the screening at the Venice Festival of the restored print of The adventure of a soldier, until the day of celebration organized in Castro dei Volsci, birthplace of the unforgettable actor. And the song today (Tuesday 16 available on iTunes) you can hear the exclusive ilfattoquotidiano.it. "Fusse che Fusse la Vorta bona".