He met and worked with the likes of Fabrizio De André, Gaber, Vasco Rossi, Paolo Conte, Bob Dylan, Miles Davis, Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Peter Gabriel, Lou Reed. He died around 1 a.m Genova the well-known music manager Vincenzo Sperafounder and director of «Two thousand Big Events»: the promoter had been hit by a scooter in corso Magenta in the evening. The entrepreneur was transported in red code to the emergency room of San Martino. The attempts to revive him by the team of anesthesiologists directed by Dr. Giordano Casalini were unsuccessful, as he confirmed his death a few moments after one o’clock. Hope, 70 years old, he was born in the province of Salerno but Genoese by adoption, was a member of the Superior Council of Entertainment of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, a role in which he had recently been confirmed by the Liguria Region. He had also been appointed ambassador of Genoa in the world by the mayor Marco Bucci. President of Assomusica and member of the Presidency Council of Agis (General Italian Entertainment Association), president of Elma (European Live Music Association), since 1974 he was in charge of organizing major events at national and international level. He collaborated with the Directorate-General for Culture of the EU in preparation of the future European law on music and the Creative Europe 2020-2027 programme. He Was part, the only Italian, of the European Forum Safety and Security.
He was crossing the street when an 18-year-old ran him over
Spera’s conditions, which immediately appeared very serious, worsened over the hours. Giordano Casalini, head of the polyclinic’s team of anesthetists, “confirmed the death a few moments after one o’clock,” reads a note from the San Martino. The investment took place around 9 pm, at via Bertani, not far from Spera’s home. As reconstructed by the investigators, Spera was crossing the street when he was hit by the scooter. The crash was very violent and the driver of the vehicle, an eighteen year old, was also injured: he is now hospitalized in serious condition in the Galliera emergency room.
President of Assomusica and manager of great artists
Manager, founder and director of «DuemilaGrandiEventi» as well as president of Assomusicathe association that brings together all the promoters of Italy, Vincenzo Spera was a huge music lover, as he recounts in One meter from the stage, the title of his autobiography, written together with his friend Renato Tortarolo. The list of artists with whom he has worked is very long: from Beppe Grillo to Fabrizio De André, looking only at Genoa, his adopted city; from Bob Dylan a Miles Davis; and Eric Clapton a B.B. King a Frank Sinatra looking at the internationals. In 2020 he had received the honor of commendatore of the Order “of merit of the Italian Republic”, which he had commented as follows: “For me it is a great reason for pride and happiness. I think it’s also significant, because our work is often overlooked. An acknowledgment to a profession that is of great socio-cultural importance and emotional aggregation». And again: «In all these years, through music, I got to create international relationships and supportthanks above all to the availability of the artists, social initiatives linked to research and medicine, together with projects on the occasion of natural disasters, in Italy and beyond».
The tribute to De André
Great friend of De AndréSpera had organized an important event in June ’99 a few months after the artist’s disappearance, on January 11, ’99. The marquee had been designed by Renzo Piano, a friend of Fabrizio’s; and it was a short distance from the house where he and Dori Ghezzi had decided to spend their old age, by the sea. The Music Festival – under the party tent of the Porto Antico – had been transformed into Genoa’s first collective homage to Fabrizio De André. Franz Di Cioccio, the drummer of PFM had called to the stage, one after the other, the artists who had shared pieces of street and music with Fabrizio. A beautiful moment, which illustrated how strong Spera’s bond was with his artists.