by Elvira Serra
The record producer remembers her husband, who died in June: “He went home. When we got married, many thought that the marriage would not last»
Piero Sugar died at 10:45 p.m. on June 11 last year at his home in Milan. Around him were the people he loved, plus a nurse and a doctor from Vidas, the association that accompanies the sick in their last stages of life and supports loved ones in the moment of greatest loss, when they feel more fragile and more afraid to share one Making mistakes, not seeing the signs of decay. Caterina Caselli remembers that day with deep pain. But she agrees to speak out about her missing husband for the first time to support Vidas’ new home care project for the sick and lonely elderly. He does it with humility, at the Milan headquarters of Sugar Music, the record company now run by his son Filippo. He is often touched, but also smiles a lot when he fondly remembers his 52-year marriage, which nobody would have bet “more than a month or two”.
Caterina, when did your husband get worse?
«In May we went to Ischia. It had been her wish. I was worried because even if he minimized himself in front of others, when we were together I understood that he wasn’t doing well. But he wanted to make that journey, so I talked about it with my oncologist, with our son, and in the end we decided to go anyway, in the best and least tiring way that he could. Back in Milan, it was immediately clear that the situation had deteriorated and also at the suggestion of my daughter-in-law, who had received the same support from another club after the death of her mother, I decided to contact Vidas».
What was your help?
«It was very precious, I never tire of saying it. Doctor Giada gave me her cell phone so that I could call her at 2 or 3 a.m. in case of doubt. We had a nurse and, when it made sense, a physiotherapist. Piero could go home with his things. In the spring she had asked me for a new, light dress for the summer. He was a very elegant man, he cared about his looks and I liked the continuity of this request, the idea of the future, so I called the tailor. Back from Ischia the dress was ready, blue, beautiful: she wore it on her last trip».
When I heard you talk about Ischia, I had to think of your distant vacation in Crete, you were not yet married.
“It was beautiful. Every day we went to Lindos, with this beautiful clear water. There was an old man who only had two teeth and managed 4-5 tables there on the beach where we had our snacks. Piero was dear to his heart grown when he was sunbathing, he played tricks on him by running a fake crab on his back».
When did he ask her to marry him?
«To Crete, in Cortina. He told me: This is an important life decision. I was very much in love, but I only knew very difficult marriages. We got married on June 30, 1970. Everyone thought it would take two months at most. And instead, after lockdown, we celebrated 50 years of marriage in Venice, enjoying St. Mark’s Square, the Palazzo Ducale and things never seen before, without tourists, in a naked city of amazing beauty.
When did you meet?
«In September 1965, when I was singing in Milan at the Intra’s Club under the Tre Gazzelle: Monica Vitti came to hear me with Antonioni, Corrado Corradi with his wife Mina. Piero was different from the others, very talkative: he, on the other hand, spoke little, but his presence was important. And I’ve always been fascinated by those who spoke good Italian. With incredible intuition, he even founded a publishing house at the age of twenty with Berchet’s partner, Massimo Pini. They had an unusual, bold catalogue: they published, for example, Samuel Beckett, Andrei Sakharov… But Piero did not flaunt his great culture».
There was no lack of culture in your home.
“I remember when we met Nanni Cagnone or Craxis family. Mimmo Rotella was often with us: among other things, I recently found certain phonetic poems that he had recorded in my house. We were two very different people, but mutual respect and love naturally bound us.”
What memories do you have of the failed kidnapping in 1975?
«In our house lived Mina, then engaged to the artistic director of the CGD, Alfredo Cerruti, then father Eligio, Gianni Rivera and a Neapolitan tailor who wanted to convince Piero to have a “cascmìr” coat made. My mother-in-law called to tell me that they tried to kidnap him and my father-in-law. Mina was crying in the kitchen. Then when Piero called I told him we were all waiting for him. And he: I’m sorry, a little inconvenience happened ».
Were you sorry to stop singing?
“No, music is still part of my life. I feel like an artisan, a publisher, even if some say I’m an artist. I have to tell the truth: when I got married, I couldn’t take the pressure of this life anymore. I also drove to Cosenza-Milan! It wasn’t like today, where everything is scheduled.”
We close with Piero. Where is he buried now?
«In Montorfano, where my in-laws and cousin Susi are also buried. It’s a beautiful, collected, poetic graveyard. I have to tell the truth: I often remember Piero at home, but I often go to his place».
January 25, 2023 (change January 25, 2023 | 07:31)
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