Fans sing “L’Italiano” at Toto Cutugno’s funeral

A large crowd in Milan, Thursday, bid farewell to the Italian singer Toto Cutugno, who died on Tuesday at the age of 80 after a long struggle with illness. The greats of the Italian pop scene attended the funeral. Since the morning, fans have gathered in the square in front of the Church of Saints Nereo and Achillio in Milan and sang Cotogno’s famous song “L’Italiano”.

With this song, released in 1983, Cutugno broke into the charts in Italy, but also achieved success in German-speaking countries, France, Israel, Eastern European countries and South Korea. The Tuscan-born singer has also been recognized by Russian and Ukrainian media as a great singer.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni commemorated Cutugno on the online service X (formerly Twitter), referring to the meaning of his most famous song as “a true Italian”. The funeral service was held in the same church where Cotogno married his wife, Carla, in 1971.

Coutugno wrote many songs for French singers, including Michel Sardoux and Mireille Mathieu, especially in the 1970s. As a singer, he has participated in the Sanremo Music Festival, which had a great impact in Italy, a total of 15 times.