The long goodbye: who left us in 2021

2021 is coming to an end. A year of successes and epochal events, but also conflicts and tragedies.

One year, the second, with the whole world engaged in the battle against Covid-19.

A year to be retraced, also in images, through the news of UnioneSarda.it.

Third stage: VIPs (and not) who left us in 2021

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THE LONG GOODBYE: WHO LEFT US DURING 2021

2021 was a year of many triumphs for Italy, but also of great farewells. In these twelve months we have left behind people who have marked the history of entertainment, customs and politics of our country: artists, television faces, sportsmen and representatives of institutions.

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MARCO FORMENTINI (January 2)

The long goodbye: who left us in 2021 — Marco Formentini (Ansa) (ANSA)

The year opens with a mourning for the world of politics: Marco Formentini, the first and only Northern League mayor of Milan, who remained in office from 1993 to 1997, dies at 90. Before becoming mayor, he was elected deputy in the ranks of the Carroccio. He was also an MEP for ten years.

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SOLANGE (January 7)

On 7 January, the psychic and well-known face of TV Solange, born Paolo Bucinelli, was found lifeless in his home in Mortaiolo (Livorno). Friends had been trying to track him down for days. He was 68 years old. On January 3 he made his last appearance on television in the program "Unomattina in famiglia".

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EMANUELE MACALUSO (January 19)

On January 19, the Italian left loses its historical memory: Emanuele Macaluso. Ninety-six years old, a native of Caltanissetta, he was a director of the CGIL and the Italian Communist Party. He also played in the PDS and DS. He was director of "l'Unità" from 1982 to 1986.

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FRANCO MARINI (February 13)

In 2021, one of his key institutional figures leaves: the former president of the Senate Franco Marini, who passed away at the age of 87. Politician and trade unionist of the popular area, he was secretary general of the CISL, then president of the Senate and minister of Labor. At the beginning of January he had tested positive for coronavirus and had been hospitalized in the Rieti hospital.

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MAURO BELLUGI (February 21)

Former Inter defender Mauro Bellugi dies at 71. Suffering from Mediterranean anemia, the former footballer has seen his health deteriorate after contracting the coronavirus, following which he also suffered the amputation of both limbs.

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RAOUL CASADEI (March 13)

Folk music lovers will miss the "king of the smooth" Raoul Casadei, author of "Ciao Mare" and ambassador in the world of Romagna folklore and the nostalgic waltz "Romagna mia", written by his uncle Secondo. At 83 he did not survive Covid 19. He had been hospitalized for days at the Bufalini hospital in Cesena.

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PRINCE PHILIP OF EDINBURGH (April 9)

On 9 April - on the day of Charles and Camilla's wedding anniversary - Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, life partner of Queen Elizabeth II of England, with whom he shared a 73-year long marriage, dies at 99. With his wife, in April 1961, he visited Cagliari, between the stages of their trip to Italy.

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MILVA (April 24)

The show says goodbye to Milva (born Maria Ilva Biolcati), the "Panther of Goro". The 82-year-old singer and actress was known throughout Europe as a superlative interpreter of Bertolt Brecht's plays. It had been discovered in the sixties by Giorgio Strehler.

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MICHAEL COLLINS (April 28)

At the age of 90, the witness of one of the symbolic events of human progress goes away: astronaut Michael Collins, who with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin was part of the crew of Apollo 11, the US space mission that in 1969 conquered the Moon.

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NICK KAMEN (May 5)

Nick Kamen, singer and model discovered by Madonna, dies at 59. Sex symbol of the eighties, he had become famous thanks to the commercial of a brand of jeans. Among his hits "I promised myself", "Tell me" and "Turn it up". He had been suffering from cancer for three years.

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FRANCO BATTIATO (May 18)

Italian music forever greets one of its great masters: Franco Battiato , 76 years old. In his career, the songwriter and composer has ranged from pop to progressive rock, with some forays into film directing and painting.

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TARCISIO BURGNICH (May 26)

A mourning for all Inter fans and football lovers: Tarcisio Burgnich, defender of the Nerazzurri team coached by the wizard Herrera, legend of the national team and one of the protagonists of the "match of the century" between Italy and Germany, leaves at 82 in 1970.

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CARLA FRACCI (May 27)

Carla Fracci, a legend of dance and symbol of Milan, dies in Milan at the age of 84. L'etoile della Scala, of which she was an ambassador throughout the world, was one of the most important dancers in the world. He danced alongside the greatest, from Rudolf Nureyev to Mikhail Baryshnikov.

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MICHELE MERLO (June 6)

A rising star of music leaves us prematurely: the former competitor of "X Factor" and "Amici" and promise of singing, Michele Merlo, is killed at the age of 28 by a fulminant leukemia. An investigation is opened on his death, which will have to give an answer to the many questions still unanswered.

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GUGLIELMO EPIFANI (June 7)

Farewell to Guglielmo Epifani. Romano, born in 1950, was secretary of the CGIL. After leaving the union, he was read in Parliament in 2013 with the Democratic Party, of which he became secretary for a short time. In recent years he had played in Liberi e Uguali.

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GIAMPIERO BONIPERTI (June 18)

Juventus and the world of football greet Giampiero Boniperti, 92, forever. His entire life as a sportsman was dedicated to the Bianconeri colors: first as a player then as manager of the club, of which he was president.

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RAFFAELLA CARRÀ (5 July)

On July 5, Italian television loses its queen at 78: Raffaella Carrà. The dancer, singer and TV presenter receives an international tribute, so much so that the “Guardian” defines her as “the pop star who taught Europe the joy of sex.” In her career she has sold 60 million records.

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LIBERO DE RIENZO (July 15)

On July 15 comes, like a bolt from the blue, the news of the death of Libero De Rienzo at the age of 44, following a heroin overdose. The Bart from the generational film of the zero years “Santa Maradona” is found lifeless in his Roman house.

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ANTONIO PENNACCHI (3 August)

Many lovers of literature will lack the talent and the never banal point of view of the writer and former worker born in 1950 Antonio Pennacchi. He was the winner of the Strega Prize in 2010 for the book “Canale Mussolini”, dedicated to the history of the reclamation of the Agro Pontino.

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GINO STRADA (13 August)

On the civil society front, the commitment of Gino Strada , a pacifist doctor, will not be forgotten. After having worked as a surgeon with the International Red Cross in Pakistan, Ethiopia and Somalia, in 1994 he founded the NGO Emergency, created to offer care to the victims of wars and poverty.

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PIERA DEGLI ESPOSTI (August 14)

2021 is also the year in which Piera Degli Esposti, a unique figure, halfway between stage, direction and literature, leaves us. From her beginnings in the avant-garde to her success in cinema and on TV, she remains one of the most popular performers. She passed away at 83.

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GIANFRANCO D'ANGELO (August 15)

Italian comedy loses one of its most popular faces: Gianfranco D'Angelo, 85. Actor, voice actor and comedian, he was on the crest of the wave in the eighties with the now cult program "Drive In" and the conduct of the first edition of "Striscia la Notizia".

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NICOLETTA ORSOMANDO (21 August)

The longest-lived viewers have never forgotten the politeness of Nicoletta Orsomando, the queen of Rai's “good evening ladies”, who died in Rome on August 21 at the age of 92. Her career as an announcer, which lasted forty years, ended on November 20, 1993.

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JEAN-PAUL BELMONDO (September 6)

A mourning for international cinema: farewell to Jean-Paul Belmondo, one of the most famous French actors in history.

In the sixties he starred in some of the most famous films of the "Nouvelle Vague", as well as "La ciociara" by Vittorio De Sica. In 2001 he suffered a stroke.

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ANGELO LICHERI (October 18)

On October 18 he died in the clinic in Nettuno (Rome) where Angelo Licheri, 78 years old originally from Gavoi, was hospitalized. His name will always be linked to one of the greatest Italian tragedies: the story of little Alfredino Rampi, the five-year-old boy who fell into the well in Vermicino in 1981. Licheni, typographer at the time, offered to slip into the tunnel to harness the baby and take it out. remaining upside down for 45 minutes, he managed to communicate with Alfredino, but unfortunately not to save his life.

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GIAN PIERO GALEAZZI (November 12)

Sports fans mourn Gian Piero Galeazzi , 75 years old. Many will continue to remember his exuberant commentary on the victories of the Abbagnale brothers in rowing - a discipline which he himself had practiced, winning the Italian championship in 1967 - and his energetic conduct of the “Domenica Sportiva”.

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WILBUR SMITH (November 13)

Literature loses perhaps the greatest bestselling creator of all time: adventure master Wilbur Smith, author of 49 novels that have sold over 140 million copies worldwide. His books have been translated into thirty languages. The writer was 88 years old.

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ENNIO DORIS (November 24)

Farewell to Ennio Doris, who passed away at 81. Prominent name in finance and founder and honorary president of Banca Mediolanum, he was a historic ally, advisor and business partner of Silvio Berlusconi. In 2002 he was named Cavaliere del Lavoro.

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LINA WERTMULLER (December 9)

The year ends with the news of the death of Lina Wertmuller, revolutionary director and the first female filmmaker to be nominated for an Oscar in 1977 with the film “Pasqualino Settebellezze”, albeit without a victory. The statuette was awarded to her last year as an honorary career award.

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