Conti and the Sanremo Big at the Quirinale, Mattarella: "From the Festival to Grazia Deledda, a common thread."

"We artistic directors have absolute carte blanche: no one is allowed to interfere, to tell me who to hire or not. It hasn't happened before, neither with other governments nor with this one. We are professionals and we work independently." Carlo Conti returns to the Pucci case: "If there were mistakes, it's entirely my fault," he told RTL 102.5. " Pucci was a completely independent choice, he was awarded at the Arena for the theater's box office, nothing ever happened at Zelig. But the festival is in the eye of the storm and everyone is being pulled by the jacket; it's an opportunity to talk and gossip."

Regarding the photo of the Milanese comedian posted by the comedian to announce his presence at Sanremo, before the about-face: "It was a joke. I hope that at the start of the festival," Conti adds, "we can go back to talking only about the music, the singers, the songs, the evenings, with a lighthearted approach, as it should be."

Meanwhile, this morning, the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, met with the entire cast of the 76th edition of the Festival, accompanied by artistic director and co-host Laura Pausini. " A very important moment for the festival, for me, for all of us, and for the Italian music industry, which is going from strength to strength, " Conti commented. "Only 10-12 years ago, there were eight foreign artists and two Italians in the hit parade. Today, at the end of the year, the charts are all Italian and very few foreign artists, thanks to the great work of the record companies, the songwriters, and the singers, and every year there are new talents who bring new life. It's a moment of great splendor for Italian music, and it's wonderful that the President is welcoming us."

"Since the first edition," the festival "has changed a lot," Mattarella said. "I was ten years old then, I remember it well. I remember, among other things, the unmistakable, captivating voice of presenter Nunzio Filogamo. His voice, as you know, was only broadcast over the radio, and everyone wondered what that captivating voice of the festival's presenter looked like. But I remember above all how the festival, even then, attracted widespread popular engagement in our country. This engagement has remained constant thanks to RAI, which has accompanied the festival year after year, bringing it into Italian homes. It's an important story that has always seen extremely high audience ratings and engagement. As far as I know, on average, there are over twenty million Italians who follow the festival, night after night." A figure that "underscores how popular music, pop music, is part of Italy's cultural heritage."

" Yesterday I was in Cortina and Milan for the Olympics," Mattarella recalled. " Tomorrow morning I'll go to Nuoro to commemorate Grazia Deledda's Nobel Prize . These are three different forms of culture in our country, but there's a common thread between them. There are no differences between these dimensions. The festival is a moment that brings together, expresses, and even encourages young people to get involved, to participate in the dimension of light music, pop music. And it's something that falls within the cultural sphere of our country," Mattarella added.

(Unioneonline/D)