Lucio Battisti: controversy in Molteno over a street named after him

TG24 informs that in Molteno, in the province of Lecco, the proposal to dedicate a street to Lucio Battisti is giving rise to a heated debate.

The municipal council approved the proposal to name a street after the famous singer-songwriter, who lived in the municipality for a long time until his death in 1998; but the news also sparked adverse reactions. Those who protest, TG24 writes, would rehash the accusations about Battisti’s alleged right-wing political orientation.

Mayor Giuseppe Chiarella explained that the choice is not a political gesture but “an act of reconciliation and valorization of cultural heritage”, to “recognize the importance of an artist who has contributed to national culture with his music”. However, the community remains divided and on social media the confrontation has turned into a real symbolic battle.

TG24 again:

“After his death, which occurred in 1998, Lucio Battisti was buried in the town cemetery, but in the following years his wife, Grazia Letizia Veronese, had repeatedly expressed the desire to protect the privacy of the tomb, complaining about the lack of confidentiality and excessive media attention. In 2018, after years of tension, the family decided to have the singer-songwriter’s body transferred to a secret place, outside the municipal territory. The decision, welcomed with regret by many fans, marked a rift between the Municipality and his heirs, who since then have maintained a distance from public initiatives dedicated to the artist. Precisely for this reason, the choice to name a street after him today takes on an even more symbolic value: for some it is a gesture of belated reconciliation, for others an act that reopens wounds that have never completely healed”.

The citizens of Molteno who contest the mayor’s decision would do well to remember that if their town has entered the history – as well as the geography – of music they owe it only to the fact that Lucio Battisti lived there for a few years. Their protests, if they are truly connected to political considerations, only demonstrate their intellectual paucity. (fz)