BOLOGNA. The lyrics of "Futura", a song by Lucio Dalla included in the album "Dalla" which turned 40 this year, will light up via D’Azeglio during the Christmas holidays. This pedestrian street in the heart of Bologna’s city centre is where the singer-songwriter, who passed away eight years ago, used to live. The initiative was decided by the Consortium of shopkeepers of the pedestrian area of via D’Azeglio, in agreement with the Municipality, the Lucio Dalla Foundation, the Sant'Orsola Foundation and Confcommercio Ascom.
Moreover, artist Pablo Echaurren has accepted the invitation to intertwine his own imagery with Dalla’s words by designing the title of the song and other images that will help renew and animate the magic of "Futura". The lights will be switched on December 3rd, but without any ceremony, in compliance with anti-Covid regulations.
"This year, more than in the past, we felt it was our duty to carry out this initiative, to send a message of comfort and hope to the people of Bologna and beyond: to be resilient, beyond the adversities this dreadful year has brought us — beauty must always shine in everyone’s eyes and hearts," explains Simone Dionisi, president of the Shopkeepers' Consortium.
The artistic Christmas lights thus return to via D’Azeglio (two years ago, again with Dalla and "L’anno che verrà", and in 2019 with Cesare Cremonini and "Nessuno vuole essere Robin"). "And this year," highlights Culture Councillor Matteo Lepore, "they carry an even deeper meaning. The lyrics of 'Futura' are a sign of hope, a light that illuminates tomorrow."
"I met Lucio Dalla," recalls Echaurren, "in 1977. I had drawn the cover for the first book of his songs published by Savelli. It was in Bologna, eating and drinking. Drinking a lot, me. Between the Emilian and winey fogs, we promised to meet again, but it never happened — that's life. What ideally kept us connected was our friendship with Roberto Roversi and Paola Pallottino, who wrote some of the most famous lyrics in his repertoire. Now, being invited by the Galleria d’Arte Maggiore and the Consortium of via D’Azeglio to accompany the lyrics of 'Futura' makes me proud and rekindles distant memories."
