Italian singer Milva, one of the great interpreters of the country, has died at 81 years of age in Milan (north) after a long illness and after more than fifty years of an enormously versatile career that made her a recognised artist all over the world.

“Her voice has awakened a deep emotion for entire generations. A great Italian, an artist who, starting from her beloved land, has risen to the international stages, globalising her success and taking the name of her country to the top. Goodbye to the ‘Goro panther’”, the Minister of Culture of Italy, Dario Franceschini, said as soon as her death became known this Saturday.

Nicknamed for her hometown in the northeast of the country, but also as “Milva, la rossa”, by the reddish color of her long hair and the title of one of her most famous songs, the artist died yesterday in Milan, where she lived with her secretary and her daughter, according to the country’s media. Th country was shocked by the loss of one of the members of the golden quartet of Italian female voices from the 60s and 70s with the mythical Mina, Iva Zanicchi, and Orietta Berti.

Born in Goro, a small town of 3,000 inhabitants of Emilia Romagna, the artist was decorated by the governments of Italy, France, and Germany and became a very popular singer internationally: he sold more than 80 million records and is the Italian artist with most recorded discs, 173 between studio albums, live albums and collections.

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