On March 23, 2026, John Cabot University had the pleasure of hosting the artistic duo composed of singer Isabella Alfano and pianist Domenico Sanna for an event dedicated to the multifaceted relationships between music and poetry in modern Italian literature.
The event was presented by Professors Federica Capoferri and Paolo Prato and sponsored by the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures. It featured songs by major Italian writers and composers, such as Italo Calvino, Pier Paolo Pasolini, and Fabrizio De André, all of which were performed by Alfano and Sanna.
Music and Literature: an Ancient Connection
The relationship between poetry, literature, and songs dates back to the early Middle Ages in the West. Figures such as troubadours, bards, Minnesänger, and menestrelli sang courtly love songs accompanied by their instruments, inaugurating a genre that continues to thrive today. The event focused on illustrating how prominent Italian writers and poets have embraced popular songs as a means to explore new possibilities. Music was utilized as a tool to reach a wider audience and convey civic messages.
This phenomenon became widely known in the late 1950s and early 1960s for two reasons: the popularization of television in Italy, and the quality of pop music. Television in Italy was launched in 1954, and it amplified the centrality of songs in the public opinion, thus increasing their power to influence the taste of the Italian people. The quality of these songs was mainly represented by the Sanremo Music Festival, the most popular song contest in Italy, held annually.
Singer-songwriters: the Cantautorato italiano
It was a time for young intellectuals to contribute to the birth of a new musical genre in Italy, the cantautorato. Italian singer-songwriters – called cantautori – approached pop songs with artistic intent, viewing them as more than mere entertainment or market products. They wrote songs about real life in order to preserve the collective memory and rich heritage of the Italian people, narrating tales of resistance and offering a critical perspective on current events.
A similar approach was employed by Bob Dylan in the US. In Italy, some of the major exponents of the cantautorato genre were Fabrizio De André, Angelo Branduardi, Lucio Dalla, and Francesco Guccini. Many writers contributed to this cultural movement, interlacing music with literature. Among them was Italo Calvino (1923-1985), who is considered one of the most influential writers of the 20th century.
The first song performed at the event was “Dove vola l’avvoltoio?” (Where Does the Vulture Fly to?), written by Calvino and composed by Sergio Liberovici. It was the product of a special encounter between Calvino and the intellectual group Cantacronache, which started the cultural movement in Turin. The song was written in 1957, inspired by some key events of the Cold War and the still-fresh memories of World War II. In fact, the vulture in the song represents death, specifically death caused by conflict.
Other songs performed were “Seguendo la flotta” (Following the Fleet), written by Alberto Arbasino and Fiorenzo Carpi; “Il valzer della toppa” (The Patch Waltz) by Pier Paolo Pasolini and Piero Umiliani; “Il suonatore Jones” (Jones the Musician), written and composed by Fabrizio De André as an adaptation of one of the poems included in Edgar Lee Masters' The Spoon River Anthology. In addition, videos of the following songs were also shown during the event: “L'autostrada” (The Highway), written by Calvino and Luciano Berio; “Ci vuole un fiore” (It Takes a Flower), by Gianni Rodari and Sergio Endrigo; and “Nuvolari” (referring to Tazio Nuvolari, an Italian racing driver), by Roberto Roversi and Lucio Dalla.
Watch the full "Songs and Literature" performance.
