Remo Remotti
Canottiere

A Tribute to the Great Remo Remotti.

Painter (Venice Biennale, Berlinale etc.), actor (to name just a few of the directors he worked with: Marco Bellocchio, Nanni Moretti, Silvio Soldini, Carlo Mazzacurati, Franco Zeffirelli), writer and poet (after several volumes of poems and notes, his latest book is about to be released in the Einaudi series "Gli struzzi") as well as a man of theater. This summer, he participated in a show by Lucia Poli that toured all over Italy.

Remo Remotti turned 80 a few months ago and he is a work of art himself. It's hard to talk about him; you need to see him. He loves performing even in nightclubs, often with the group Recycle (at the Cube in Rome last fall, he attracted over a thousand people). He ended up in the airplay on Radio Deejay with Roma Addio and hasn't stopped being occasionally broadcast in "cult" programs of national radio and TV stations.

The CD "Canottiere" is a collection of performances taken from his shows, in discotheques and rundown pubs around Rome (he doesn't miss anything), in some he is accompanied by his guitarist Paolo Zanardi, the essential Roma Addio with the Recycle, other tracks are live, plus two tracks for connoisseurs in which the backing music is composed and created by the Bacci Bros. from London (authors of Moving too fast by Romina Johnson, producers of Call me by Dino, authors and producers of Soul Alchemy).

I quote the text of one of his famous classics "Mamma Roma (Addio)": poetry set to music.

In Rome, I said goodbye to friends. Where are you going? I'm going to Peru. Are you crazy?
I was leaving that whore-ish, bourgeois, fascistoid Rome, that Rome of "volemose bene e annamo avanti", that Rome of pizzerias, dairies, "Sali e Tabacchi", "Erbaggi e Frutta", that Rome of chestnut cakes, husband rolls with cream, without cream, mostaccioli and candies, supplì, lupini, mosciarelle…
I was leaving that Rome of the delicatessens, porters, brothels, approximations, deceptions, appointments never on time, payments never made, that Rome of post offices and the registry, that Rome of ministry officials, office workers, bankers, that Rome where applications were always already closed, where you needed a recommendation…
I was leaving that Rome of pissoirs, vespasians, fountains, ex-voto offerings, Right Circular, Left Circular, Vatican, a thousand churches, cathedrals outside the walls, inside the walls, that Rome of nuns, friars, priests, cats…
I was leaving that Rome of attics with a view, Rome of Piazza Bologna, Parioli, Via Veneto, Via Gregoriana, that D'Annunzio-esque, baroque, eternal, imperial, old, very old, touristy, daytime, nighttime Rome, that of the band at Piazza Esedra, fascist Piacentini's Rome…
I was leaving that Rome everyone envies, Rome caput mundi, the Colosseum, Imperial Forums, Piazza Venezia, Altar of the Fatherland, University of Rome, that Rome always sunny - summer and winter - that Rome better than Milan…
I was leaving that Rome where people peed on the streets, that stinking, bureaucratic Rome, of cheap drinks, oxtail stew, that Rome of rich shopkeepers: that Rome of Gucci, Ianetti, Ventrella, Bulgari, Schostal, Sorelle Adamoli, Carmignani, Avenia, that Rome where there's no work, where there's not a penny, that Rome of "core de Roma"…
I was leaving that Rome of the Monte di Pietà, Banca Commerciale Italiana, Campo de' Fiori, Piazza Navona, Piazza Farnese, that Rome of "do you have a cigarette?", "lend me a hundred lire", that Rome of Coni, Equestrian Competition, that Rome of the Forum still bearing Mussolini's name, I was leaving that shit Rome! Mamma Roma: Goodbye!