Pippo, the Maestro: a tribute from the entertainment world

From the golden age of Variety to the thirteen Sanremo Music Festivals, to Domenica In, and to the most important shows in the history of Italian television. Pippo Baudo was much, much more than a "good presenter" and an icon of Italian television. Over sixty years, he launched, discovered, and supported dozens of artists. We will see many of them at the funeral chapel, organized by Rai at the Teatro delle Vittorie, which will be open from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm on Monday, August 18th, and from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm on Tuesday, August 19th. But as soon as the news broke, many people expressed their affection and gratitude on TV and social media.

Renzo Arbore: "The pain is very strong for me." "We spoke regularly. The pain is very strong for me. He was the star of the show." This was Renzo Arbore's statement during a special edition of Tg1.

Lorella Cuccarini: "To you, my eternal thanks." "In June, for your birthday, I wasn't able to reach you by phone to wish you a happy birthday, and this had really worried me." Lorella Cuccarini shared this on social media in memory of Pippo Baudo. "I really hoped this moment would never come, but... You were my teacher and my artistic father. Thanks to you, my life has been full of satisfaction and my childhood dreams have come true. Working alongside you and learning has been a unique privilege, because you are and always will be number one. To you, my eternal thanks. For everything. I love you so much. To God. Hugs to Tiziana and Dina."

Mara Venier in tears: "I owe him everything. He was a free man." "This news was devastating for me; I wasn't expecting it, even though I knew he wasn't well. He was always there for me, he was part of my life," Mara Venier said on Tg1, remembering Pippo Baudo. The host, who took over from him on "Domenica In," called him a professional and personal role model, also recalling the moments they shared with Renzo Arbore: "Renzo is devastated too, I spoke to him a moment ago. We were very close, supportive; we had a true friendship." Her voice breaking with emotion and tears, Venier added: "I owe him a lot, for his work and for his advice. He was never afraid of anything; he taught me everything I know. I always appreciated his courage to speak his mind: he was a free man and always has been."

Gianni Morandi: "Pippo helped me overcome my crisis" "Personally, I owe him a lot. He helped me overcome my crisis in the early 1980s with his precious advice and by inviting me to his shows. Thank you, Pippo, for what you did for me and for your friendship. I will always love you." This is how Gianni Morandi remembers Pippo Baudo on Facebook. "I am deeply saddened," Morandi adds. Pippo Baudo "kept all Italians company for 60 years and more. A maestro, a musician, a host, an extraordinary organizer of shows like the Sanremo Music Festival, Canzonissima, and Fantastico."

Al Bano: "I started with him, an older brother, always present in my life."

Eros Ramazzotti: "Pippo, you were my guide, teacher, and confidant."

"You didn't raise me at home, but on the stage of life. With your reassuring voice, your attentive gaze, and your sure hand, you were a guide, a teacher, and a confidant. If fate gave me a blood father, you were the father of my artistic soul, the one who encourages, who opens doors, who believes when others doubt. Thank you, Maestro, you will always be in my heart and in my thoughts."

Giorgia: "You invented us, we're all sad."

"Pippo, how can I write now to say goodbye, to express everything you were and will continue to be in my memory and heart? Photos and words won't be enough. I'm comforted by the fact that we shared these things until the very end, with all the affection we could muster. And here, to honor at least a little of your fundamental contribution to our history and our culture, I leave a huge thank you for the passion with which you always made your art, for what you gave, for what you believed in, and for what you did for me. 'You invented us.' We are all sad today, I hope you can see it. To Tiziana, to your family, and to Dina, a big hug." This is what singer Giorgia wrote on Instagram.

Laura Pausini: "He changed my life. Goodbye to my second dad."

"Goodbye to my second dad." Laura Pausini bids farewell to Pippo Baudo with a post on her social media and a photo from his 1993 Sanremo Music Festival win in the Newcomers section. "I can't believe I'm writing this message. There are men who have left an indelible mark on this life and on this earth with their talent and brilliance. One of them became the man who changed my life 32 years ago, choosing me at just 18 among the new voices at Sanremo 93, and from that moment on, he has never left me, ever. He has become a member of my family. The loss I am experiencing tonight is inexplicable and profound. Pippo, THANK YOU. I say this to you as your pupil, your friend, and your fan. It has been an honor and a privilege to meet you and say goodbye to you on this new journey of your life toward the light. It makes me feel small but close to your soul. Rest in Peace. Luckily, I've been able to tell you so many times: I love you so much."

Giancarlo Magalli: "I loved you like a brother."

"A tremendous pain. Made worse by not having heard anything, despite having tried hard lately, and by being far from Italy. My poor Pippo. I loved you like a brother. And I always will." This is what host Giancarlo Magalli wrote in a post on social media.

Pingitore: "More than a relative, it was at my last birthday"

I was and am bound to him by a feeling, beyond friendship, of immense affection, as if he were a relative and even more." This is how Pier Francesco Pingitore, interviewed by Tg1, recalls his relationship with Pippo Baudo. "We met many years ago at the Bagaglino," he says. "He wanted us to put on a show about his story, but then nothing came of it. He called me as the author of one or two Fantastico plays; I was also supposed to direct, but I understood that it was right that he remain the director already chosen. Then we did one hundred and fifty other things together, but above all there was a very strong bond of affection and mutual respect." Pingitore also recalls a recent and personal moment with Baudo: "At my ninetieth birthday, on September 27th, he came in a wheelchair, even though he could walk, because the place was uncomfortable. The party became his party, and it was my best birthday, with so many friends and people who loved him. Even those who criticized him actually respected him. He was a wonderful person, incredibly generous. It's hard for me to talk about him, he was very close to me," she concluded, recalling the host's last public appearance.

Carlo Conti: "Pippo has always been my point of reference."

It's hard to say goodbye to Pippo Baudo for someone like me who always admired him, followed him, considered him a beacon, a role model. As a boy, when I was just starting out, they called me 'Pippuzzo,' and when they told me I was 'Baudeggiavo,' it was an honor for me; it was like a footballer referring to Maradona. And to think that he later called me 'colleague.'" Carlo Conti knows that with the death of 'Supergoofy' "a piece of history is gone, but with the awareness that everything he taught us remains, as do all the talents, singers, and comedians he discovered. As the title of the famous comedy written for him by Garinei & Giovannini says, 'The man who invented television, as we still do it'." Conti and Baudo's paths crossed when Carlo was still very young, "during the days of children's TV, and then with early evening shows: he wanted me as one of the hosts of Luna Park. From there, a constant, very strong bond was cemented between us. When I closed my last Sanremo," Conti recalls, "I called him 'Baudian,' and he called me back, delighted. After all, he taught us the festival, he invented it with this strength, with this power." "Today the television is turning off, and a piece of my television history is gone... I will be eternally grateful to him as a viewer and as a colleague," Conti concludes.

Katia Ricciarelli: "When we saw each other again at the Verona Arena, we hugged and there was no need to speak."

"I'm shocked. When I lost my mother, I felt alone. Now with his death, it just feels like... Enough..." Pippo Baudo's ex-wife, Katia Ricciarelli, deeply moved, remembers him to Rainews24. "They should have respected him more," she adds, "he didn't have the right people around him, he was surrounded by people who wanted to keep him in the dark about so many things, but now that he's dead, instead..." "He was the greatest of all," she emphasizes. "In recent years, we haven't been in touch, but that doesn't matter. When we saw each other again at the Verona Arena, we hugged and there was no need to talk, it was as if we'd met the day before. Even with a friend, you don't need to see each other every day." "He was always available to young people," she emphasizes. "He was a great man, we all know that. I'm so sorry."

Tullio Solenghi: "Baudo has always been a companion, an older brother."

"In January, Massimo (Lopez) and I went to visit Pippo Baudo. He was already suffering from the illness, he could barely speak, but I remember it as a moment of great tenderness. For us, he was always a sort of playmate, an older brother. His human side is what hurts me the most in these moments, even though we were more or less dreading, waiting for the news of his death. The moments together, and when we hugged at the end, and everyone felt that perhaps it would be the last time, are something I carry with me today." Tullio Solenghi remembered Pippo Baudo this way, speaking live on Rainews24. "I remember when we involved him in our film The Betrothed, it was a sort of compensation for what he had done to us."