A man who made the history of cinema and national television is experiencing great suffering.
His real name is Pasquale Zagaria, but the whole of Italy has had the pleasure of knowing him by his stage name Lino Banfi. A great artist of Italian television who worked in dozens of comedies of the 60s and 70s and won over the general public in the role of Nonno Libero in “A doctor in the family“.
Born in 1936 in Andria, Puglia. In the sixties he defies his parents’ wishes and begins a career in the world of acting that will lead him to become one of the greatest interpreters Italians.
Two films in particular make it iconic: “Come forward, idiot” e “The coach in football“. Thanks to these two comedies he established himself in the world of entertainment and began an extraordinary career destined to write the history of cinema and television.
After 60 years of career, Lino Banfi is still active on television scenes and in 2023 he put himself on the line as a competitor on dancing with the Stars. In the third episode, he surprisingly announces his retirement from the talent show: “You have to tell me what I could get more than what I’ve already gotten in three episodes. [..] tonight I leave like Greta Garbo. Big time“.
A great mourning in the life of Lino Banfi
Lino Banfi is a great artist who, since the 1960s, has won the affection of the Italian public and has become the grandfather of Italy, loved even by the youngest. However, in Lino Banfi’s life there was no shortage of moments of great sadness such as mourning for his nephew Amanuel. The young man, just 18 years old, let himself fall into the void from the seventh floor of his house in Milan and rescue attempts were useless.
An extreme gesture which left Italy with bated breath. «Hi Amanuel. It’s your grandfather speaking to you: you arrived as a scared little bundle, you filled the lives of all of us with immense happiness. You have grown and become a giant but “fragile”. [..] we were unable to understand the drama that devoured you inside. FORGIVE US. The rest of our lives will be hell. Fly now among the angels».
Lino Banfi, the great suffering – Credit Ansa Foto – Tendenzediviaggio.it
Lino Banfi and the painful farewell
Amanuel’s early death is not the only pain that Lino Banfi had to face. His life gave him so much from a professional and personal point of view, but it took away the great love of his life. Last year he lost his wife Lucia Zagaria after a long battle with Alzheimer’s.
The two spent a lifetime together and married in 1962. Over 60 years of marriage who were broken by a subtle disease. Lino continues to suffer greatly from this loss and in a letter symbolically addressed to his wife, he admitted: “I wrote to Pope Francis. I asked the Holy Father what you asked me to ask precisely. I told him your wish, that of let’s go togetherat the same time, holding hands as we have always done in our lives”.