He is considered a national hero in Italy and his statue greets the sea: Who is Domenico Modugno?

In the morning, he had a deep blue nightmare and woke up. He looked at the painting in amazement and remembered the blue nightmare he had seen. At that moment, some verses came to his mind;

“Nel blu dipinto di blu. ….

Pienso que un sueño paricido no volverá más y me pintaba las manos y la cara de azul”

In blue fields painted blue...

But all dreams disappear at dawn because the moon takes them with her at sunset.

When Domenico Modugno came to him, Migliacci excitedly showed him the lines he had written. Domenico Modugno was excited.

"Let's go to San Remo and win the competition," he said.

Together they opened a new bottle of wine and got to work. They worked throughout that night and day, but the song did not turn out the way they wanted.

Domenico Modugno met his wife Franca, whom he had not seen and missed for a long time, on the beach for dinner. But his mind was on the song. That night, his wife's deep blue eyes reminded him of Chagall's painting and the song. According to what he later said, the notes of the song appeared in his mind while he was with his wife.

Domenico Modugno (January 9, 1928 - August 6, 1994) was an Italian singer, actor, and film director. He became known worldwide with the song "Nel blu di pinto di blu (Volare)", which he performed in the 1958 Eurovision Song Contest. Although he left the competition with 3rd place, he came 2nd among the 14 best songs at the night called Congratulations, organized within the scope of Eurovision's 50th-anniversary events.

He returned to his hotel room muttering, and that night the two men started working again. However, neither of them could think of the words needed for the chorus of the song. At that moment, a storm broke out and the windows and curtains of the summer motel were blown away. Domenico Modugno suddenly cried out;

- Volare… (Flying)

In the 1950s, Italy was very conservative. Italian music was not yet known in the world. The lyrics of well-known songs were often adorned with the perfume of flower insects, maternal love, and platonic love. It was taboo to even hint at the lovers' desire for each other.

Migliacci's verses were meaningless and even surrealist for that period, just like Chagall's paintings. In those years, when singers went on stage, they wore dark suits and sang upright, as if they were in a church choir as if they had swallowed a cane.

Domenico Modugno was a bubbly man. He was a musician (played guitar and accordion) but not a singer. He was talented, but he came from the southern regions of Italy, which were probably not very active, and he made it felt with his accent (which was bad compared to the north).

Domenico Modugno (9 January 1928 – 6 August 1994) was an Italian singer, actor and, later in life, a member of the Italian Parliament. He is known for his 1958 international hit song "Nel blu dipinto di blu", for which he received Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. He is considered the first Italian cantautore.

“Volare” turned the world charts upside down

But "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu", also known as "Volare", shook San Remo, Italy, and even the world in 1958. Since at first no singer wanted to sing this song full of strange and unusual lyrics, Domenico Modugno had to take the stage as the singer.

He didn't like to sing with a Southern accent. In the past, he always had his hands on his guitar while making music, but this time he didn't have a guitar either. He couldn't find a place to put his hands and he was very excited. Suddenly, he opened his hands involuntarily while saying "Volare". And...

And the audience in the San Remo competition hall and the Italians in front of their televisions jumped to their feet.

The song suddenly turned the charts upside down around the world. It was heard thousands of times on the radio. The world's most important singers lined up for royalties.

“Volare” was not a lonely song. It was the desire for change within the Italians. In 1958, Italy really shook itself up. The economy boomed decades later. Gross National Product broke a record that year. The founding agreement of the European Union was signed in Rome. Suddenly, music, fashion, and tourism investments began to flow into the country.

The statue of Domenico Modugno, who is considered a national hero in Italy today, with his arms open, greets the blue sea in his birthplace, Polignano.

His great love, Franca, wrote the following for Domenico Modugno after his death:

- He was a man whose desire to do something and live was so deeply rooted in his heart! When he was around me, I would feel tired and overwhelmed. But his absence was a huge void. Every day with him was a discovery.