The world of Italian music is in mourning. Ornella Vanoni, one of the most iconic and enduring voices of Italian song, died at 91 on Saturday night in her own home in Milan, the victim of a sudden cardiac arrest, as confirmed by Italy’s Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli.
An icon of Italian melodic music, actress, muse, and television figure, she built a career spanning nearly seven decades, left a profound mark on popular music, and became one of the most influential performers of the 20th century. Vanoni recorded 40 albums and sold more than 55 million records.
She not only consolidated a repertoire that spans bossa nova, jazz, pop, and traditional Italian music, but also opened space for a more mature and authentic way of singing, which established her as a reference in the most universal side of Italian music.
Legendary Italian singer Ornella Vanoni dies at 91
Born on September 22, 1934, in Milan, Ornella Vanoni came from a well-off family. From a young age, she trained in the world of theater: at 18, she joined Milan’s Piccolo Teatro under the direction of Giorgio Strehler, a key figure in her professional and personal life. It was precisely during that stage that she began shaping her expressive voice and performing dramatic pieces before making the definitive leap to music.
Her recording debut came in the early 1960s with the well-known “Canzoni della Mala,” a set of songs inspired by Milan’s marginal underworld—raw and poetic. That project broke with the mold of the light music of the era and gave Vanoni a unique identity: she was not only an interpreter of romantic songs but also of social narratives.
Over nearly seven decades, Vanoni built a dizzying career. She became a regular figure at the Sanremo Festival, participating in eight editions, and in 1999 became the first woman to receive an honorary award for her entire career.
Among her greatest hits are unforgettable songs such as “Senza Fine” (composed with Gino Paoli), “L’Appuntamento,” “La Musica è Finita,” “Eternità,” and “Una Ragione di Più,” all of which remain etched in Italy’s collective imagination.
But her talent was not limited to melodic song: she explored diverse genres such as jazz, bossa nova, soul, and pop. She collaborated with major musicians both Italian and international, working with Herbie Hancock, George Benson, and participating in albums with bossa nova figures such as Vinicius de Moraes and Toquinho.
Furthermore, her voice and style made her a muse for singer-songwriters and composers. Vanoni also shone as a writer—she won the prestigious Tenco Prize twice, becoming the only woman to earn it both as a performer and as a songwriter.
Personal life: passions, romances, and authenticity
In her personal life, she was as intense as she was in her career. Ornella maintained a professional and romantic relationship with Giorgio Strehler, her theatrical mentor. Later, she also had a very famous relationship with singer-songwriter Gino Paoli, with whom she shared not only music but also a love story that inspired some of her most emblematic songs.
She married businessman Lucio Ardenzi in 1960, a union from which her son Cristiano was born. However, the couple separated in 1972. Over the years, Vanoni spoke candidly about her life, her age, her insecurities, and fame, always displaying a blend of humor, melancholy, and serenity.
In her final interviews, the artist addressed deep themes: old age, loneliness, legacy. And she also made plans for her farewell: she said on television that she wanted a simple funeral, with an inexpensive coffin, and wished to be cremated so that her ashes could be scattered at sea, perhaps in Venice.
The death of Ornella Vanoni has shocked Italy and the cultural world. The Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, described her passing as the loss of “one of the most original and refined artists” in Italian history. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also expressed her sorrow, recalling her unmistakable voice and her imprint on national culture.
Her musical output was impressive: she recorded more than 40 albums, according to various media, and sold tens of millions of records. Her figure transcended music: she was an actress, television host, and a symbol of sophistication, vulnerability, and irony.
For many, Vanoni represents a golden era of Italian song, an artist who knew how to reinvent herself without betraying her own identity. Her soft, deep, melancholic voice will live on in her songs, which today resonate with a special meaning: that of a woman who wrote her own story with elegance and courage.
With her passing, a magnificent chapter in Italian music comes to a close. But her legacy—that song woven from memory, love, and melancholy—will live on like an eternal promise: Senza fine.
Related: Legendary Italian Actress Claudia Cardinale Dies at 87.