When Sanremo Music Festival crowned Sal Da Vinci its winner this year, it felt less like a breakthrough than a coronation long delayed. For decades, Sal Da Vinci has been one of Italy’s most beloved musical interpreters of romance, carrying the melodic grandeur of canzone napoletana into pop, theater and television.
But his victory with “Per sempre sì” wasn’t simply another career milestone — it was a cultural moment. It was March of 2025 when I first brought Sal to Chicago. He played my Des Plaines Theatre with another popular Italian star, Arisa.
