Much-loved Italian singer-songwriter
and musician Claudio Baglioni has been made Knight of the Grand
Cross, the highest and most prestigious Order of Merit of the
Republic awarded by the Head of State for merit in the artistic,
professional, social and humanitarian fields, a statement said
on Thursday.
"Thanks to a language that is always inspired, poetic, intense"
the 72-year-old Baglioni "has become one of the most refined and
beloved interpreters and spokesmen of important moral, human,
civil and social values", continued the statement.
Over 60 years of musical activity the popular artist has managed
"to involve and enthuse sometimes profoundly different
generations, cultures and existential visions and make them
reflect", it said.
Rome-born Baglioni has been singled out by President Sergio
Mattarella for his "particularly significant testimony to
fundamental values such as love, freedom, the dignity and
inviolability of the human person, civil rights, integration -
the only effective response to the feral inculturation of
disintegration - the Europeanist spirit - a testimony
culminating in an exclusive concert in front of the European
Parliament, meeting in plenary session - solidarity - through
participation in all the most important national and
international initiatives - and peace, repeatedly publicly
witnessed and invoked in many, impassioned, signed interventions
on the pages of our country's main media".
In January Baglioni, whose greatest hits include Questo piccolo
grande amore, Strada Facendo, Avrai, E tu come stai and Mille
giorni di me e di te, announced that he will retire in 2026.
"I remember what my father used to say - get out of the ring
when you're a winner," Baglioni told a press conference in
Milan.
"Call it my victory lap - I'd like to sing and play music for
another 1,000 days and give myself what sports stars have.
"I'll stop work by the end of 2026, doing a series of projects
and implementing them. But they will be my last laps".
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