If you’re planning on visiting the Tremiti islands, you had better be well-versed in Lucio Dalla’s music.

Lucio who, I hear you say? Lucio Dalla. He’s an Italian singer-songwriter; he passed away prematurely in 2012 but he is revered here on the islands. Trust me, you’re bound to walk into a bar with his music playing, or find someone strumming a guitar to his songs, or listen to a cover band in a concert in the square. I can hear one as I speak. That’s because he used to frequent the islands a lot; he bought a large house here on San Domino, and he used to organise pretty big concerts particularly on San Nicola, and called many big names of Italian music to play as well. This clearly brought about quite a bit of tourism. Everywhere you go you will find something about him – from the mural graffiti at the port of San Domino, to quotes on restaurant menus; from a statue in one of the town squares (called Piazza Lucio Dalla, by the way), to his portraits in the City Hall; from a plaque with his verses outside the cemetery on San Nicola, to photos displayed proudly in bars and restaurants, and even the name of a bar in the main square has the title of one of his CDs, ‘Luna Matana’. Well, that’s because his title was inspired by the light of the moon (“luna”) over a well-known bay (“Cala Matana”).

There are times when I wonder how public opinion can value the location of Lucio Dalla’s house so much when quite literally in front of it on the other island is a Medieval fortress and abbey (founded in 1045), with mosaiques of the rarest beauty with the potential for being UNESCO heritage – and it’s unknown and obscure to most. But I realise here on the island he was everybody’s pal, and everyone has some kind of story to tell about him – and I tend to be less star-struck than many people I know. So if you don’t want to miss out on the sing-along, or feel left out when everyone is chanting; or if you want to savour what the islanders are experiencing when they look at the islands their famous friend frequented, then go ahead and check out some of his music – ‘Caruso’, ‘Piazza Grande’, ‘Attenti al lupo’, ‘Com’è profondo il mare’, ‘Caro amico ti scrivo’ are some of his best-known. Some are heart-wrenchingly beautiful, and I have to say that though I get a little weary of it after a whole summer hearing it in some form most days, I can never really quite bring myself to listen to ‘Caruso’ when it appears on my MP3 player because I know it will drive me to tears. In a good way.

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