Italy bids farewell to Pippo Baudo, the 'king of presenters'

The Teatro delle Vittorie, in Rome, will receive the coffin of presenter Pippo Baudo, an icon of Italian TV who died last Saturday (16), at the age of 89, for the final farewell to the public who loved him so much throughout his six-decade career on television.

The tribute is organized by the management of the public broadcaster RAI, in agreement with Baudo's family, who will be laid to rest from 10 am (local time) on Monday (18). The theater will be open to the public until 8 pm and will also receive fans between 9 am and 12 pm on Tuesday (19).

The funeral will be held in his beloved hometown, Militello in Val di Catania, Sicily, on August 20th at 4pm.

Baudo's last public appearance was at director Pier Francesco Pingitore's 90th birthday party in September 2024, where he smiled despite being in a wheelchair and was photographed surrounded by many friends.

Known as the "king of presenters", Pippo Baudo won the public's affection with the music programs "Settevoci" (1966-70) and "Canzonissima" (1972-73), both on RAI, and became famous for hosting 13 editions of the Sanremo Festival (1968, 1984-85, 1987, 1992-96, 2002-03 and 2007-08).

In one of them, in 1993, he introduced singer Laura Pausini, who always considered him a "second father," to the general public. Throughout his career, Baudo hosted numerous variety shows on TV, a career crowned in 2021 with the title of Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, the country's highest honor.