Bologna, unveiled a new mural dedicated to Lucio Dalla. It is entitled Happiness

A new mural dedicated to Lucio Dalla, created by artist Kotè, has been unveiled in Bologna. The work, entitled Felicità (Happiness), was unveiled yesterday, March 4, on theanniversary of the great singer-songwriter’s birth, and was created on a social housing building in the Navile district, near Piazza Lucio Dalla. The ceremony was attended by representatives of the Lucio Dalla Foundation, the City Council, local associations promoting the initiative and numerous citizens.

The significance of the work

The mural is named after Felicità, a famous song by Lucio Dalla published in 1988 (FELICITÀ, L. Dalla - EMI Music Publishing Italia - Universal Music Publishing Ricordi). The work is a transposition on a wall, on a surface of 18 by 9 meters, of a painting by Kotè dated 2022 and exhibited in the exhibition A volte basta una canzone. Lucio Dalla Songs on display, which can be visited until April 28, 2025 at the State Archives in Bologna.

In the artist’s vision, Lucio Dalla’s face is surrounded by a crowd of people facing upward in pursuit of happiness. However, one man, detached from this obsessive search, manages to find it by turning his gaze toward himself. In the lower part of the mural, a running train evokes the instant of happiness sung by Lucio Dalla in his song. Kotè also associated the work with a music track, not a reproduction of the original song, but a composition inspired by the mural’s creative process. Passersby and tourists can listen to it by scanning a QR Code placed on the work’s plaque.

A project created by young people from the Navile neighborhood

The initiative was promoted by the ShowLove MNT youth association, with the aim of bringing young people and new residents of the neighborhood closer to the music and poetics of Lucio Dalla. The project was supported by the Navile neighborhood of the Municipality of Bologna through a collaboration pact.

The Happiness mural is a gift from Lucio Dalla Foundation to the city of Bologna. “The mural that Kotè has created,” explain Andrea Faccani, Daria Grazia and Stella Caracchi, president, vice president and board member, respectively, of the Lucio Dalla Foundation, “underscores the indissoluble bond between Lucio and Bologna and allows his memory to be shared with everyone and forever. Lucio is a son of Bologna and we hope that the image of Lucio, so beautiful and so evocative to which Koté has given life with sensitivity and passion, will arouse in everyone the emotion that we ourselves felt when Antonio De Marco, president of ShowLove, together with Koté, presented us with the project. We hope that the light, energy and warmth of the mural will reach all the way to Lucio.”

Bologna, unveiled a new mural dedicated to Lucio Dalla. It is entitled Happiness

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